Knowledge Base

The Role of Landscaping in Roundabout Safety

Overview

Landscaping in roundabouts plays a vital safety role. In addition to improving aesthetics, it supports visibility, reduces speeding, helps guide pedestrians with visual impairments, minimizes headlight glare, and encourages proper yielding. Thoughtful landscaping enhances the effectiveness of roundabouts for all road users.

Beyond their functional design, landscaping plays an important role in enhancing safety and improving user experience. According to the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Guide for Roundabouts, landscape elements, when thoughtfully planned and installed, support safe, intuitive navigation for both drivers and pedestrians.

Key Benefits of Roundabout Landscaping:

• Enhances intersection visibility
  Landscaping should preserve clear sight lines so drivers can recognize signage and the shape of the roundabout in advance.

• Prevents excessive sight distance
  Limiting long, straight sight lines reduces speeding by signaling to drivers that they must navigate a curved path, not continue straight through.

• Improves pedestrian navigation
  For individuals who are blind or have low vision, landscape features like buffer strips and non-traversable surfaces help distinguish safe walking paths and crosswalks.

• Promotes slower driving
  Strategically placed landscaping narrows the visual field and creates a funneling effect that encourages drivers to reduce speed on approach.

• Reduces headlight glare
  Low to medium-height plantings in the central island can block direct headlight glare from oncoming vehicles at night, improving visibility and comfort.

• Encourages proper yielding
  Well-placed landscaping directs drivers’ focus to the left upon entry, helping them better identify circulating traffic and yield appropriately.

When designed to align with the surrounding context and function of the roundabout, landscaping becomes more than aesthetic; it becomes a practical tool for safety and accessibility.