Washington County Public Works Wins Award for Roundabout U

Press release from Washington County.

Washington County Public Works received an award for Exceptional Performance in Journalism from the American Public Works Association in September for its public information campaign to bring residents up to speed on , an intersection design widely used across the world and introduced in the county in 2007.

Washington County transportation staff learned early in the process of proposing modern roundabouts that there was a need to educate the drivers on how to use the roundabouts, and they responded by producing information for drivers to make them comfortable while using the new traffic control design.

Many residents who commented on the roundabout proposals had driven in “traffic circles” or “rotaries” in other parts of the country or world, which operate differently from roundabouts. The county's response to this confusion was Roundabout U, a wide-ranging array of materials and events designed to explain the new traffic pattern appearing in communities throughout the county. Materials included brochures explaining how to maneuver through a roundabout, newspaper advertising, flyers for law enforcement officers to hand out in lieu of tickets, information in the county's newsletter, a video explaining how to navigate a roundabout and information on the county's website.

Public Works Deputy Director Wayne Sandberg presented the award to the Washington County Board of Commissioners at its meeting Oct. 18. Sandberg noted that the materials have been used in communities throughout the metropolitan area, and as far away as the City of Duluth. The Minnesota Department of Transportation has also used the materials, and Sandberg noted that the materials were designed to allow these agencies to use them, simply changing logos and design to meet agency needs.

Sandberg also cited some of the e Public Works staff who contributed to the , including Cory Slagle, engineering and construction manager, Joe Gustafson, transportation engineer, Jacob Gave, transportation engineer, and Deb Parent, engineering technician.

More information about roundabouts and how to properly navigate them may be found at www.co.washington.mn.us/info_for_residents/transportation_division/roundabout_u/.