This roundabout is the one where Roosevelt and Keelung Roads meet, right? That’s also where the old Broadway cinemas were, right? Lots of good memories from there (from the 90s)
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In my opinion Taiwan should be introducing more roundabouts not taking them away.
There are so many places I ride/drive where the traffic flow would be much better if they had roundabouts instead of the stop - start - stop - start system they have now.
The more common place they are, people will get used to how they work and not panic when they see them causing holdups and accidents.
just my 
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Yes, but Taiwan also should be educating and enforcing the correct usage of roundabouts, or roads in general…
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Disagree. Roundabouts are perfect for single-lane roads. But once you have two, three or even more lanes and start adding traffic lights and such (like they do in Taiwan), they become a nightmare…
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They really are a lot quicker and easier even with multi lanes, adding traffic lights defeats the purpose.
a roundabout like below is simple to follow you just get into the correct lane for your exit and filter, its even marked up to show you when to filter.
now imagine the traffic lights and wait time in Taiwan for a intersection like that.
Very few roundabouts to educate people on, you can teach as much as theory as you like but without practical use people will forget or panic and make mistakes even with enforcement.
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I mean the rules are simple.
- Don’t enter the roundabout if it will slow down traffic already in the roundabout.
- Only switch to the outer lane when your exit is coming up.
- Don’t ride scooters in between lanes.
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I agree, roundabouts are faster in handling large traffics and safer generally.
However that specific roundabout in the news article is very poorly planned with limited visibility and confusing for people who don’t drive there frequently
Exactly. Tell that to the road designers in Taiwan… Until they hear you, it won’t make sense to build more roundabouts.
Compare that to another roundabout in Taiwan, the Renai Dunnan Traffic Circle (yes, that one has traffic lights, too):
Yeah, there are some lines - but overall it’s just a mess…
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Both of the above post just say the need more practice to get it right, so build more so they can work out the kinks, or learn from other countries.
I would put up with the inconvenience of them trying to make it better, whats the alternative, more traffic lights with 3 minute wait and 1 minute ride to the next one.
This was annoying in Tianan 2 weeks ago when I was watching the light in-front of me turn to red as mine went green, other people were commenting about it at the event I was at.
Have to admit, I don’t really understand how to use these multi-lane roundabouts.
I usually just drive in the outer lane
I think by this point you’ve already presented rules too complex for plenty of the drivers here.
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This is a staple of Kaohsiung driving
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There’s a wonderful video on YT of a Taiwanese driver in NZ being stopped by a cop for a litany of crimes including driving right over the top of a roundabout and stopping in the middle of one.
Taiwanese can’t handle uncontrolled roundabouts very well, they require the ability to merge which in turn requires lane awareness. Lane awareness is simply a foreign concept here.
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I was already a fan of roundabout when I watched all those City Skyline traffic doctor videos. Then I visited New Zealand, and experience how a traffic circle should work first hand. I’m impressed that they are building more and more of them in Aotearoa.
People always complain that in Taiwan’s densely populated cities, traffic would backup and kaput a roundabout, when the reality is if you replace all intersections with roundabouts, there wouldn’t be any traffic to backup in the first place. Also, traffic backups kaput regular intersections as well, people just stop complaining about it.
From the article:
The roundabout’s design has created a heightened risk of accidents for cars and motorcycles, while also being difficult and dangerous to cross for pedestrians, Chiang said.
How do pedestrain crossings work with roundabouts? If it relies on yield signs, spatial awareness, and the good-heartedness of Taiwanese drivers, then pedestrians are doomed from the get-go.
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The Taipei City government is justifying the large-scale changes at the Keelung / Roosevelt intersection by pointing to statistics that this intersection apparently has the highest accident rate in the city.
They will, as part of the changes, remove the underground bus lanes, keeping buses at surface level throughout.
I think, with no solid evidence, that this intersection will become more infuriating with endless waits to cross as a pedestrian. Almost every change I’ve seen so far in Chiang Wan-an’s Taipei has NOT been a positive change for pedestrians. It’s always been about scooters and cars!
Guy
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Entering that three/four lane roundabout is always stressful.
Put pedestrian crossing before cars approach the aroundabout.
Carmel Indiana in 20 years tripled its population, but reduced the number of car accidents by building over 150 aroundabouts.
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Maybe Taiwanese people complain about density, when the reality is driving skills and culture here make roundabouts a nonstarter
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It’s always terrifying in NZ in a completely opposite way. Drivers are super vigilant and stop if a pedestrian is anywhere near a crossing. Sometimes I haven’t even committed to a crossing and the driver is stopping, flashing his lights and waving you across the road.
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