[509engr]

No, you're definitely not the only one who likes them. Some folks complain about them when they first go in, but they tend to figure it out.

WSDOT has been encouraging them for a few years now, and my town has several new roundabouts as a result -- and lots of other cities across the state are using them. They've made navigating those intersections way easier, reduced traffic "waiting times", and generally improved safety versus a lighted intersection. I'm glad they're continuing to find ways to make them work.

It seemed when I was growing up in NJ, the state DOT was taking out the giant roundabouts that they were famous for, and now in Washington, they're having a huge resurgence.

[bobthepanda]

Huge roundabouts are very dangerous; the safety factor in the modern ones WA installs is that they are tight and slow, which reduces the severity of any crashes.

It also does not help that NJ is the only state in the US that does not have a consistent rule about roundabout traffic priority.

[themadturk]

I agree, Washington does seem to at least aspire to better roundabouts than some places I've heard of. The one rule I see to be truly necessary is "yield to oncoming traffic from the left."

I still get confused at the big roundabout in Kent, after coming off Highway 167 at Willis Street, but most others I've encountered are fine, despite the drivers who still want to stop before proceeding onto them even when there's no other traffic.