Beaufort and Bluffton drivers soon could join those who use roads ranging in areas from Sea Pines Circle on Hilton Head Island to Cape Cod, Mass., to Scottsdale, Ariz., by experiencing the flow of traffic through roundabouts.

Scottsdale is using modern-designed roundabouts as traffic-calming projects but also intersection control, which proved safe and effective in reducing vehicle speeds on neighborhood streets.

Traffic congestion has been a large problem in Beaufort County. The Bluffton Planning Department expects traffic from more than 12,000 new homes (not to mention those that already have been built) in the vicinity of the intersection of S.C. 46 and S.C. 170 to use the roundabout, and Beaufort officials have complained about traffic congestion on Boundary Street (U.S. 21).

Not everyone is enamored of roundabouts, but they have proved effective in Europe, where the era of the modern roundabout dates to 1956 in the United Kingdom. Many claim that roundabouts provide superior safety throughout Western Europe, but they have become popular in United States only in the last decade. Gary Fordham and Frank Glover, members of the Beaufort City Council, don't approve of them. Glover said recently that "narrowing lanes and roundabouts will impede the flow of traffic and make it further congested." Fordham said it would cause confusion and problems. According to tfhrc.gov, many American highway engineers have become advocates for modern roundabouts, and they are designing and building roundabouts to reduce accidents and increase capacity.

The Federal Highway Administration says that modern roundabouts with a deflected entry and yield-at-entry force drivers to reduce speed during the approach, entry and movement within the traffic device. Intersections with traffic signals encourage people to speed up to "beat the red light" when the signal turns yellow. Another safety feature is that only right turns are used, reducing the potential frequency and severity of accidents, where people may be T-boned during high-impact collisions.

Beaufort and Bluffton officials hope the roundabouts and other highway changes will reduce and slow traffic while still moving it. Beaufort officials want to create a pedestrian-friendly atmosphere, add green space and mix shops, hotels and government offices.

Bluffton officials hope a new pedestrian-friendly streetscape plan and a potential designation of S.C. 46 as a scenic highway will reduce the speed limit and force people in a hurry to use S.C. 170 and U.S. 278 and an expanded Bluffton Parkway. Assistant Town Manager Tim Bennett said the town doesn't want "the small town of Bluffton to be a route for people to take to Hilton Head." Instead of a throughway, they want people to come to Bluffton for business or to eat in a restaurant. As motorists approach an environment that will force them to slow down, "we hope it will force them to take another route," Bennett said.

Engineers expect a roundabout to move between 4,000 and 5,000 vehicles per hour at peak times after build-out in Bluffton, and eventually it could be widened to accommodate four lanes of traffic.

The roundabouts don't come cheap. The roundabout in Bluffton will cost $4.3 million, and New Riverside and Palmetto Bluff developers are funding it.

All in all, the roundabouts may prove to be the best traffic-moving devices for fast-growing communities that want to keep people happy by preventing them from "steaming" in traffic jams and from being hit broadside at dangerous intersections.