Q: There is a neighborhood I drive through that has something I’d describe as little roundabouts, much smaller than a regular roundabout, in several intersections. It’s like they took a normal intersection, put a concrete circle in the middle of it and filled it with plants. Do I have to go around the circle to make a left turn, or can I just turn left in front of the circle? It’s such a tight turning radius if I go around the circle in my truck.
A: The intersection you just described goes by a few different names. The Washington Department of Transportation calls them Neighborhood Traffic Calming Circles, so we’ll go with that, but I’ll shorten it to NTCC because the full name is a mouthful. (Can you have a mouthful when your words are in print?)
If you had a time machine and you traveled back to Seattle at least ten years ago, then you could turn left in front of a NTCC. Of course, if you had a time machine, I think you’d find a better use for it than turning left in front of traffic circles. In a moment I’ll explain why it used to be allowed in Seattle, and why it’s not now.
First though, let’s address the reasons for a NTCC, as well as the similarities and differences with roundabouts. Over the past couple decades in Washington we’ve been transforming intersections to roundabouts like robots in a Michael Bay movie. And with good reason; roundabouts decrease serious injury and fatal crashes, and they can increase the efficiency of an intersection.
Like roundabouts, NTCCs also reduce crashes, but unlike roundabouts, they’re not intended to increase the efficiency of traffic flow. They’re actually intended to do kind of the opposite. Whereas roundabouts get installed in high traffic areas, NTCCs get installed in neighborhoods; places with less traffic and slower speeds. The “TC” in NTCC stands for “traffic calming” and that’s the objective; to decrease vehicle speeds in neighborhoods.
Many cities in Washington have installed NTCCs in their neighborhoods, but Seattle is at the forefront, having installed over 1200 of them since 1973. And while they’re great for reducing both vehicle speeds and crashes, they present a challenge if you’re towing a trailer and you want to make a left turn. Seattle solved that problem by writing a municipal code allowing you to turn left in front of a NTCC if you were driving a larger vehicle and the turn could be completed safely.
Just one problem: the municipal code was in conflict with state law, which says that, “A vehicle passing around a rotary traffic island shall be driven only to the right of such island.” NTCCs and roundabouts both fall into the category of “rotary traffic island.” Seattle eliminated their municipal code, but that didn’t make it any easier to tow a trailer around a traffic circle to make a left turn.
The law is clear; we’re required to drive counterclockwise around a NTCC. That’s not a problem in a typical passenger vehicle, but what do you do if you encounter one while towing your 30 foot Airstream behind your crew cab pickup and you need to make a left turn? I’m not going to recommend violating the law, but I will quote from the Washington DOT website: “Many drivers often turn left in front of the circles instead of turning around them.” I confirmed with a DOT engineer that their website isn’t an endorsement of the behavior, but recognition of reality.
We have a mini-roundabout in our neighborhood, and it’s designed so large trucks can just drive right over it. All blacktop in the middle and about 30-40′ across.
As to these NTCCs I’ve seen a few in Seattle that have stop signs going either way for one of the directions. That just seems bizarre and unnecessary.
NTCCs might make sense in residential areas where a history of speeding and/or accidents warrant some kind of slow-down. But they make no sense in small towns or quiet neighborhoods where they actually create hazards. There are NTCCs in Blaine with trees planted in them! Whoever thought that putting a tree in the middle of an intersection was a good idea?! If that isn’t bad enough, pedestrian crosswalks were not relocated, so drivers navigating around the NTCCs are forced into the crosswalks! That makes no sense to me.