What Gainesville High School's Temporary Roundabout is Teaching Us About Real-World Traffic Solutions
In celebration of National Roundabout Week, we explore how innovative traffic infrastructure can enhance safety in educational environments.
As National Roundabout Week highlights the benefits of modern intersection design, one Prince William County school is taking traffic engineering to the next level. Gainesville High School has installed a temporary roundabout as a practical demonstration of how roundabouts can improve safety in school zones—areas where pedestrian protection and traffic flow are paramount.
Early results are promising, with an immediate reduction in pedestrian-vehicle conflicts through the elimination of a crosswalk that coincided with the merge point of the heavily used eastbound right turn with southbound through traffic. Our team will be collecting and analyzing more data as the school year progresses.
The installation provides a real-world testing ground for traffic engineering principles near the school campus
Why Roundabouts Make Sense for Schools
School zones are busy during pick-up and drop-off times, with high pedestrian activity and complex traffic movements. Roundabouts require motorists to slow down to maneuver around the roundabout, which provides a safer environment for pedestrians than at signalized intersections. Research collected by the Transportation Research Board demonstrates the safety benefits: studies show that roundabouts reduce total crashes by 35% and injury crashes by 76%, with potential reductions of more than 90% for fatal and incapacitating injury crashes.*
For educational facilities, roundabouts offer additional advantages beyond crash reduction. The continuous, low-speed traffic flow eliminates the stop-and-go patterns common at traditional intersections, reducing vehicle emissions and noise in school zones. The design also provides safer pedestrian crossings, as pedestrians walk on sidewalks around the perimeter and cross shorter distances with better visibility compared to large traditional intersections.
Connecting Engineering Education to Real-World Solutions
Although growing in popularity, roundabouts are still an unfamiliar site to many drivers in the U.S. Gainesville High School’s temporary roundabout exemplifies how transportation infrastructure can become an educational tool, allowing students to engage with engineering concepts through direct observation and measurement.
The temporary round about uses white delineator posts and yellow pavement markings to create a functional circular intersection
At Gorove Slade, we understand that successful educational transportation projects require balancing safety, functionality, and community needs. Our work with schools and universities across the region demonstrates how thoughtful traffic engineering can create environments where learning extends beyond the classroom—whether through safer pedestrian access, improved campus circulation, or innovative projects like Gainesville’s temporary roundabout that turn infrastructure into education.
*Source: https://highways.dot.gov/sites/fhwa.dot.gov/files/2022-06/fhwasa08006.pdf
