Roundabout Rodeo 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

Federal Highway Administration 

Washington State Hosts 

Roundabout Rodeo 

Location 

Bellingham, Washington 

(Northeastern United States) 

Implementation Stage 

🗸 Planning

🗸 Design 

🗸 Construction 

Roundabout Type/Setting

Multi-lane Roundabout in a rural 

location 

Target Audience 

🗸 General public 

Strategies Employed 

🗸 Mock Drivable Roundabout 

🗸 Expert on Hand

Background 

Although Washington State has been constructing roundabouts in different localities 

across the state since the mid-1990s, there are still many communities without these 

types of intersections and citizens who are not familiar with what roundabouts are and 

how they are navigated. The City of Bellingham, in Whatcom County, WA, is an example 

of this type of community, and provided the setting for a memorable experience for 

the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT). 

The initial proposal for Bellingham’s ffrst roundabout was at a four-legged intersection 

where 18 collisions had occurred in a single year, and officials wanted to build a 

roundabout to improve conditions at that intersection and along the corridor. Similarly, 

in another part of Whatcom County, the community was struggling with the idea of 

roundabouts being constructed on a major highway near a border crossing. Residents 

voiced concerns about how viable the roundabouts would be for use by not only local 

farm equipment, but also the large freight trucks that moved on the corridor back and 

forth across the U.S.-Canadian border. Although meetings and face-to-face question 

and answer sessions were held, uncertainty persisted, and WSDOT faced stiff resistance 

from individuals who could not envision the concept or who still did not believe that 

the larger vehicles would be able to navigate the roundabouts safely. So, WSDOT 

decided to show them. 

Approach 

WSDOT decided to give a physical 

demonstration – not by building a

roundabout per se – but by laying 

out one in a parking lot with cones,

sandbags, and spray-on paint so that 

residents could come and experience

driving a roundabout for themselves. 

This type of event is commonly 

called a mock drivable roundabout or 

a roundabout rodeo. 

WSDOT invited local farmers, ffre departments, emergency services, school buses, 

city and county buses, and any other concerned residents that would be interested 

in learning about how to navigate a roundabout successfully. The goal was to dispel 

myths about roundabouts and promote their beneffts. The agency encouraged the 

public to “bring the biggest, widest trailers you’ve got.” Staff also contacted the local 

media about the event, and the additional publicity brought even more people out 

to see the demonstration, drive through the mock roundabout and experience it for 

themselves. 

“Traffic engineer Phil Rust was one of 

the engineers that climbed aboard 

buses and semis all day. He felt that 

letting drivers get a hands-on feel for 

the size and shape made the mock 

roundabout a worthwhile project.” 

— Brian Walsh 

State Traffic Design Engineer Washington 

Department of Transportation 

FHWA-SA-11-041 

Revised July 2020
 

Figure 1: A large truck yielding before entering 

the mock roundabout. 

Figure 2: A snow plow approaching the 

mock roundabout. 

Figure 3: A large truck and a school bus 

navigating the mock roundabout. 

Learn More 

Brian Walsh 

State Traffic Design Engineer 

Washington State Department of Transportation 

360.705.7986

walshb@wsdot.wa.gov 

Jeffrey Shaw 

Intersections Program Manager 

FHWA Office of Safety 

202.738.7793

jeffrey.shaw@dot.gov 

Many people drove the roundabout and reported a positive experience to the local 

media. In one instance, however, a truck driver didn’t approach the roundabout in a 

way that it could be successfully navigated, so a WSDOT engineer got into the truck to 

show the driver how to set up his entry correctly so that the vehicle would traverse the 

roundabout without mishap. There were also a number of WSDOT staff present to brief 

truck drivers as well as the drivers of automobiles, tractors, and any other vehicles on 

the proper way to traverse the roundabout before trying to enter it. Traffic engineers 

were also available to enter each vehicle and talk drivers through it, offering tips and 

advice for driving through the mock roundabout in the form of hands-on education. 

Results 

WSDOT reports highly positive results from interacting directly with the public through 

the use of a roundabout rodeo. One of the more constructive results of having the 

“experts on hand” to talk with people is that a variety of myths about roundabouts 

were debunked, including concerns about pedestrian safety, size accommodations 

for large trucks, and how emergency response vehicles would safely traverse a 

roundabout. The presence of the WSDOT staff to explain to truck drivers about 

the wide truck apron used to accommodate larger vehicles and to show them the 

proper way to approach and navigate the mock roundabout went a long way toward 

dispelling that myth. 

Lessons Learned 

• A roundabout rodeo is best used when a jurisdiction is installing the first roundabout in a 

locality, as a larger percentage of the population is unfamiliar with the concept and will be 

more likely to attend the event. 

• Make sure that you schedule the trucks that are interested in attending the roundabout 

rodeo as much as you possibly can. It works best if trucks come on a staggered but regular 

basis. 

• If you can engage the media and a have dedicated coverage for the event, it shows the 

public and elected officials that this type of outreach is worthwhile. 

• Have knowledgeable people from the design staff that are pro-roundabout present at the 

rodeo (“expert-on-hand”). Many questions are asked during these activities, and the people 

with the answers need to be present. 

• Be sure to talk with local trucking companies and other businesses with a large stake in 

the success of the community to obtain their participation before an outreach event like a 

roundabout rodeo. 

Outreach Investment 

According to WSDOT, the primary costs associated with a roundabout rodeo are the 

cost of labor for design staff, marketing staff, and the engineers who will be present at 

the event. 

Related Products 

General Information Website 

“How to Drive a Roundabout,” 

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/safety/roundabouts 

Video 

Roundabout Rodeo Footage from Whatcom County, WA 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAQZ4muePOo