Elbert County hears briefing on modern roundabout design, safety and trade-offs; no action taken

Elbert County commissioners and staff heard a technical briefing from Kimley‑Horn engineers on modern roundabout design, safety performance, costs and context-driven trade-offs during a county transportation workshop; no formal decisions or votes were taken.

The presentation, delivered by Chris Hopkins and Evan Gomez of Kimley‑Horn, summarized how modern roundabouts differ from older traffic circles, the design elements that affect safety (deflection, splitter islands, truck aprons), and situational factors—truck traffic, school routes, topography and snow removal—that Elbert County should weigh before accepting roundabouts in subdivision or county-road projects.

Consultant Chris Hopkins, who said Kimley‑Horn has served the county for about 10 years, described how modern roundabouts use upstream deflection to reduce entry speeds and “utilize a yield control. It is exactly what it's meant to do. It's a yield. You do not necessarily have to stop,” Evan Gomez added. The consultants cited research and practice from state and federal agencies to say roundabouts usually cut the most severe angle crashes and fatalities by geometrically slowing vehicles and reducing the number of vehicular conflict points compared with signalized…