Honey I Shrunk the Circle

Squint and you can see the original Pinehurst Traffic Circle right in the middle of the NC DOT’s newest redesign, which would scrap the circular intersection for a series of left and right turns and straightaways. It’s called a continuous flow intersection, which isn’t quite as fun to rant, sing or write haikus about.

Ok. But will anything actually happen this time? ICYMI, redesigns have been discussed since 2011. The Pinehurst Village Council hasn’t wanted to make a change, partly because the National Park Service has deemed the circle historic. Yes, really.

However the DOT’s most recent traffic analysis shows an increase in crashes at the circle over the past few years; it also projects that delays will triple by 2050. Engineer Reuben Blakley says a public meeting to gather feedback on potential designs could be held late this summer. We’ll just keep yelling at everyone who treats the yield as a stop until then.