A new traffic roundabout in Tierra Verde is frustrating many drivers.


What You Need To Know


One of the upset drivers is Liz Delgado, who teaches anger management and coping skills to her students.

"I tell my kids this is where I need to learn and practice my coping skills,” she said.

The location sees a lot of traffic even on the most normal of days. Her concern is the design versus the amount of traffic.

As you come down the bridge there is an s-curve prior to the circle, then another s-curve when you exit the circle to the south.

Real Time Traffic Expert Chuck Henson checked with the Florida Department of Transportation to see if there were any issues drivers should be aware of navigating this circle once it's complete.

“At the roundabout approach, the curvature ahead visually alerts drivers to slow down in ways that are unlike traditional intersection approaches,” said FDOT’s Kris Carson.

And while it may take some getting used to, it's likely we'll see more and more of these approaches and circles incorporated into intersections with high crash counts.

Because the approach curve slows traffic before it enters the circle, fatal crashes are reduced by up to 90 percent; bodily injury crashes by 76 percent; and pedestrian crashes are reduced by 30 to 40 percent.

Inside the traffic lanes and before the landscaped inner circle will be a specialized berm for larger trucks to use when making the turns.

This particular roundabout has been engineered to allow trucks up to 72 feet in length.

Carson said that once construction is complete, all of these safety features should be more apparent to those who drive it.