Is This New Traffic Circle In Concord, North Carolina Unsafe?
Residents along Roberta Road in Concord say a recently-installed traffic circle may be doing more harm than good, and there are nearly 30 videos online chronicling accidents and near-crashes.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation completed the new roundabout on Roberta Road at Cochran Road back in August. Since then, the uptick in incidents has spawned a TikTok account called roberta.road.roundabout. More than two dozen videos show vehicles slamming on the brakes or driving over the median because they could not stop in time. Tom Taylor, who lives on Roberta Road, told WJZY-TV there has been an incident at the new traffic circle nearly every day.
The problem lies in the roundabout’s visibility. Drivers from both directions on Roberta Road can’t see the new intersection until they are right on top of it. Vehicles have ended up in yards and in at least one instance, brought down a utility pole.
Transportation officials have tried to offset the problem with increased signage and message boards and say they are monitoring the intersection in order to make other adjustments as needed.
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(Photo: Raynor Garey/Getty Images)
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