Sitka-Sawmill Creek Road/Halibut Point Road Roundabout

Click on the link below to view an instructional video on how to use the Sitka Roundabout:

Sitka-Sawmill Creek Road/Halibut Point Road Roundabout (9 MB)

The intersection at HPR / SCR / and Lake Street is the busiest intersection in Sitka. The existing intersection consists of a four-way stop intersection with a free right turn lane between Halibut Point Road and Lake Street South. Stop and yield signs control the existing intersection. Approximately 11000 vehicles use this intersection each day. 2007 traffic data shows there have been eighteen recorded accidents from the beginning of 2002 through the end of 2006. This project will install a single lane roundabout to reduce the number of intersection crashes, reduce the severity of crashes, provide increased vehicle capacity, and provide safer pedestrian crossings.

Roundabouts are safer than signalized intersections because there are fewer opportunities for vehicles paths to cross, thereby greatly reducing the potential for accidents. Modern roundabouts are not the same as traffic circles that were built in Europe and some east coast cities during the early 1900’s. Instead, roundabouts work much more like a “right on red” intersection on a one-way street.

Drivers are encouraged to remember these rules when using the roundabout:

• Slow down as you approach, checking for vehicles and pedestrians.
• Yield to traffic already in the circle.
• Turn right as you enter the roundabout (traffic in roundabouts always flows one way - counterclockwise).
• Do not stop once inside the roundabout.