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Road diets and roundabouts reduce serious crashes, injuries, and fatalities. Insurance-related tax impacts are unlikely since overall accidents will decline.

There is some variation in safety between different roundabout designs; however, the Broad Street Safety Project’s single-lane roundabouts are the safest form of intersection currently available.

Roundabouts can handle 30% more traffic than traditional intersections, and are thus able to accommodate spikes in traffic while also reducing wait times at intersections when traffic is light.

While detours from I-91 are infrequent, the new Broad Street configuration will manage them better than the current design while also offering year-round safety and livability improvements.

A vibrant, walkable town center attracts customers. Road diets have repeatedly increased retail activity in communities that install them.

The project will also add clearly marked on-street parking, improving access to businesses. Many local business owners support the plan.

No. Snow removal in roundabouts is often easier than at traditional intersections, which require extra plowing passes. Cities with heavy snowfall report no added difficulty in clearing roundabouts.

Plus, roundabouts have a key advantage over traffic lights in storms: they don’t lose power.

Roundabouts are much safer for pedestrians than signalized intersections. Decades of research confirms this.

Roundabout design slows drivers down as they approach, making them more aware of their surroundings. Instead of crossing multiple lanes at once, pedestrians cross one lane at a time without having to worry about vehicles turning right on red or reduced visibility of drivers making left-hand turns.

Because roundabouts accommodate more traffic and the road diet will provide smoother traffic flow, the new design will be able to absorb additional vehicle trips from the development. Bike lanes and walkability will also reduce the number of car trips from the new residents. Founders Square developer, Greg Vaca, strongly supports the project.

70% of current traffic on Broad Street is just passing through. Many of those vehicles are traveling over the speed limit. If some of these drivers are frustrated by slower travel speeds, they may be more likely to use I-91 rather than cut through neighborhood streets.

Roundabouts are designed for emergency vehicles to pass through quickly—or even over them if needed. Their ability to clear congestion faster than signals makes access easier.

The Netherlands, where roundabouts and pedestrian-centric street design is standard, has much faster emergency response times than the United States.

Ultimately, emergency vehicles will need to respond to fewer serious car crashes at the affected intersections.

Windsor Center was laid out and developed long before the advent of the automobile. By making Windsor Center more walkable, we believe that we are returning the neighborhood to its original use as a gathering point for residents and visitors to access most of their requirements within a short walk.

Aesthetic preferences vary, but many residents believe slower cars, more pedestrians, and safer cycling will enhance Windsor’s charm.

This project was initiated by local residents and businesses, and has been shaped by decades of public meetings and revisions based on resident input.

Speed bumps would be much more likely to hinder emergency vehicles and snow removal than the proposed design, and would damage cars. The Broad Street Safety Project achieves speed reduction without impacting emergency vehicle access or imposing property damage on motorists.

Enforcement can reduce speeds, but the effect is fleeting, expensive, and doesn’t improve walkability or address unsafe road design.

The smarter solution is to design streets that naturally encourage safe speeds — freeing police to focus on other priorities.