DeLAND, Fla. – The Florida Department of Transportation Tuesday rolled out their roundabout education campaign in front of local Volusia County government officials at their River to Sea Transportation Organization meeting.
The proposed roundabout at SR 44 and Grand Avenue would be the first of its kind in Volusia County. Plans that became a priority after a grandmother and her three granddaughter died in a crash at the intersection.
[READ: Roundabout study ]
"We did have a tragedy and our partners as you saw they were concerned and we took those concerns and we accelerated the project," said FDOT spokeswoman Jennifer Horton.
Just months before the crash, in September of 2015, a roundabout feasability study was done and the man who performed that study, Justin Bansen, presented his findings at the meeting Tuesday, explaining why FDOT went with a roundabout instead of a traffic light, controlling speed being the main factor.
"For both a roundabout and a traffic signal, normal drivers will decelerate into the intersection," he said. "But I think the biggest difference is the roundabout physically controls the speed all the way through the intersection. So it's forcing those drivers down to 25 miles per hour for all movements and reduces differential speeds, with the signal you are giving someone the chance to run the light."
He adds the roundabout would reduce the number of crashes by 81 percent at that intersection and says at 140 feet it should comfortably have room for trucks, tractor-trailers and emergency vehicles.
At the meeting, FDOT said they modeled the DeLand roundabout after a roundabout in Lake County that was built in June of 2015 and has since had no crashes. They presented a video of that intersection today.
This was the first of many meeting FDOT has planned for the roundabout. Officials say they plan to go door-to-door and hand out flyers to those who live near the intersection to explain how it will work and answer any questions. They also hope to hold a public meeting when construction is done. It's set to begin on June 17 and be done within 10 months.