Effective Print and Web Outreach 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

Federal Highway Administration 

Washington State Focuses on Outreach, 

Illustrates How to Drive a Roundabout 

Background 

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) faced resistance 

planning its first roundabouts in 1997 because the concept of “round” intersections 

was new and unknown to the general public. Aware of the compelling benefits that 

properly designed modern roundabout intersections offer compared with traditional 

intersections, the agency hoped to build many of them to increase safety and ease 

congestion across the State highway network. Through a concerted outreach 

campaign using public meetings, traffic safety design courses with local municipalities, 

and print/web outreach, the agency successfully overcame initial resistance to 

roundabouts. WSDOT has since built more than 200 roundabouts and plans several 

more as part of the State’s continued focus on road user safety and congestion 

reduction. The agency attributes its success with roundabouts in part to the proactive 

and effective public outreach program that informed the public of the benefits of 

these designs, helped build support for them, and taught people how to navigate 

roundabouts safely and successfully. 

Approach “Roundabout intersection 

discussions are becoming 

more prevalent in 

transportation circles as their 

benefits are obvious 

to any community where they 

are built. Outreach and 

education ... should be on 

the same solid footing as ... 

traffic safety and design 

pieces.” – Brian Walsh, WSDOT

WSDOT realized that it would need an 

effective outreach program targeting the 

public and businesses, as well as elected 

officials, in order to gain acceptance 

and buy-in during the planning/ 

design process on its early roundabout 

implementations. When WSDOT first 

started its to push for the construction 

of roundabouts across the State, it 

focused on educating the general public 

about engineering safety aspects of roundabouts (e.g., slower intersection 

speeds, reduction in intersection conflict points). WSDOT typically begins with internal 

outreach efforts aimed at DOT decision makers. Once agency support has been 

obtained, WSDOT approaches local elected officials to obtain their support for 

proposed roundabouts. They have found that this approach allows for a more cohesive 

message to be presented to the public. 

Launched in 2005, WSDOT’s “How to Drive a Roundabout” website was designed 

to present educational information to the public about the value and benefits 

of roundabouts as well as guidance on how to navigate single- and multi-lane 

roundabouts successfully. The site also provides printable brochures that correct 

common misconceptions about roundabouts. WSDOT also developed guidelines for 

pedestrians and cyclists on how to use roundabouts and a five-part video, accessible on 

YouTube and the WSDOT website. The video explains how to navigate a modern 

FHWA-SA-11-026 

Revised July 2020 

Location 

State of Washington 

(Pacific Northwest United States) 

Implementation Stage 

🗸 Planning 

🗸 Design 

🗸 Construction 

🗸 Launch 

🗸 Post-Implementation

Roundabout Type/Setting 

Multi-lane and single-lane 

roundabouts in urban, suburban, 

and rural settings

Target Audience 

🗸 General Public 

🗸 Elected Officials 

Strategies Employed 

🗸 Educational website 

🗸 Brochures 

🗸 Educational videos demonstrating 

how to drive a roundabout 

🗸 Mock walkable roundabout 

🗸 Drivable mock roundabout 

(roundabout rodeo) 

Figure 1: WSDOT’s how to drive a 

roundabout web site.
 

roundabout as a motorist, pedestrian, 

and cyclist, and why roundabouts are so 

much safer than traditional signalized and 

stop-controlled intersections. DVDs of the 

video and hard copies of the brochure are 

available in all county libraries and have also 

been distributed to driver training programs 

across the State. The brochures are also 

available online for download and are 

distributed at WSDOT open-house events. 

Related Products 

General Information Website 

“How to Drive a Roundabout,” 

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

roundabouts 

Figure 2: WSDOT sets up a mock drivable roundabout 

to help drivers learn how to navigate the design. 

Five-Part Video Series 

Part 1: Roundabouts: What they are and 

what they are not 

http://www.youtube.com/ 

watch?v=vsCoI7lERGE 

Part 2: How do I drive a roundabout? 

http://www.youtube.com/ 

watch?v=MywmtskFiiI 

Part 3: Pedestrians and cyclists 

http://www.youtube.com/ 

watch?v=Y05qGz5B1Wg 

Part 4: Safety benefits 

http://www.youtube.com/ 

watch?v=LnT1HXo7p_4 

Part 5: What does this mean for me? 

http://www.youtube.com/ 

watch?v=NO1bi6inF60 

Brochures 

Roundabouts – Frequently Asked 

Questions 

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/NR/ 

rdonlyres/09CE6ADF-92CD-4A04-

8F82-453B314819C6/0/Roundabout_ 

brochure_80910.pdf 

Rules of the Roundabout 

https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/sites/default/ 

files/2014/09/23/webRoundabout_Folio_ 

Statewide_English_040615.pdf 

WSDOT also hosts a variety of public engagement events to help educate citizens about 

how to drive a roundabout. The agency has hosted “roundabout rodeos,” where people 

are invited to bring their largest vehicles and drive through a full-size mock roundabout. 

WSDOT also developed a portable, vinyl mock walkable roundabout to provide handson roundabout education indoors or in other environments where the full “rodeo” is not 

practical. 

Results 

With over 200 roundabouts in Washington State and more planned, WSDOT’s public 

outreach efforts have paid off. A recent study showed that at nine of the State’s 

intersections that were converted from a stop-controlled intersection to a roundabout 

configuration, fatal and serious injury crashes decreased 80 percent under the new 

configuration. The early and sustained public outreach investments helped to allay 

public concern with the new intersection designs by not only making the public 

aware of the benefits of roundabouts but also familiarizing the public with the design 

through the combination of video, print, and “experiential” outreach through mock 

roundabouts and roundabout rodeos. Experiencing the roundabouts in safe, nonthreatening environments helped make road users feel comfortable with the design, 

which contributed to successful rollouts of these new intersections. As with most 

roundabouts, once the public tried them, they wanted more. 

Outreach Investment 

The outreach investment for this type of initiative is the hours staff spent developing 

each product, plus costs to print brochures and DVDs. All written materials and graphic 

design were developed and approved in-house by a group of 10 staff members, some 

working full-time and others contributing or providing creative direction for specific 

products. The products were also developed with the oversight/input of engineering 

staff to ensure that the appropriate message was being conveyed to the public. Ninety 

percent of the video was done in house over the course of 3 months using video 

editing software that the agency owned. 

Lessons Learned 

Supplement any project-specific roundabout public outreach with comprehensive general 

outreach about roundabouts. 

Shorter videos are better. WSDOT split its 10 minute video into 5 segments, enhancing 

viewability. 

Secure the support of internal agency managers and local elected officials on roundabout 

projects before initiating public outreach. 

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 

•

•

•