2 roundabouts to be installed at Rainier Beach intersections

Seattle will spend $2.1 million to install the city's first modern roundabouts in an attempt to simplify a triangular road junction at upper Rainier Beach.

Roundabouts already exist in outlying cities, including Federal Way, Sammamish and Duvall, as well as on West Lake Sammamish Parkway Southeast between Issaquah and Bellevue.

They are typically wider -- and serve a much different purpose -- than the ubiquitous traffic-calming circles that hinder vehicles and add flora on the side streets of Seattle.

When approaching a roundabout, drivers yield to traffic that is already making the circle, counterclockwise. This is meant to move cars more quickly than a four-way stop, with less guesswork for drivers.

The Seattle project entails roundabouts on Renton Avenue South, at 51st Avenue South and at nearby South Roxbury Street. Currently, the intersections, as well as 51st and Roxbury, are controlled by stop signs. The city counted more than 60 collisions in the triangle since 2000, and officials say people have difficulty crossing on foot.

The City Council voted 7-to-1 to build the roundabouts, despite Councilmember Richard McIver's view that they are "about the most ridiculous expenditure I've ever seen." A state grant would pay $1.2 million of the $2.1 million total. "A 50-cent curb really would take care of the issue, as far as I'm concerned," said McIver, who says he uses the intersection often.

Councilmember Jan Drago, a supporter, called Renton Avenue South a pilot project. "I think it will be much safer for drivers of vehicles, as well as pedestrians and bicyclists," she said.

The roundabouts are expected to be complete by 2010.

Roundabouts have not been proposed in other city neighborhoods.

Even if the first pair succeed, Drago predicts they won't become widespread. "I doubt there are more than a handful of intersections in this city that are comparable," she said.

Times reporter Sharon Pian Chan contributed to this story.

Mike Lindblom: 206-515-5631 or mlindblom@seattletimes.com