Lane changes coming to Rockford's North Main and Auburn roundabout
Rockford is gong to try reducing the North Main and Auburn streets roundabout to one lane to increase safety.
Saying that it is the scene of persistent traffic crashes, City Engineer Jeremy Carter said in a news release Friday that a pilot program would be rolled out in partnership with the Illinois Department of Transportation starting June 3 to see if reducing the two-lane roundabout to one lane would decrease the number of crashes.
"The multi-lane roundabout opened in 2013 and continues to see multiple accidents a month," Carter said in the release. "The overwhelming majority of the accidents are caused by failure to yield and improper lane usage, both of which would be considered driver error. This pilot program will look to see if accidents can be reduced by only using one lane."
More: Auburn and Main streets roundabout about to get a makeover
During the pilot program, Rockford officials will monitor the intersection for accidents, intersection capacity and take public comments. Drivers should expect delays at the roundabout at certain times of the day because of the lane reduction, Carter said.
Jeff Kolkey writes about government, economic development and other issues for the Rockford Register Star. He can be reached at (815) 987-1374, via email at jkolkey@rrstar.com and on Twitter @jeffkolkey.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Rockford plans to trim North Main roundabout to reduce crashes
