Public Engagement 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

Federal Highway Administration 

Location 

Green Bay, Wisconsin 

(Central United States) 

Implementation Stage 

🗸 Planning 

🗸 Design 

🗸 Construction 

Roundabout Type/Setting 

Single and multi-lane roundabouts 

Target Audience 

🗸 General Public 

🗸 Elected Officials 

🗸 School Officials 

Strategies Employed 

🗸 Meetings with the public 

🗸 Field trips to the roundabout site 

🗸 An easily adaptable PowerPoint 

presentation 

🗸 A follow-on study comparing before 

and after statistics and conditions 

“People were expecting 

European Vacation [the movie]. 

They had never seen what 

we were talking about.” 

– Cole Runge,

Brown County Planning 

Commission 

Wisconsin Roundabouts Calm Traffic, 

Improve School Zone Safety 

Background 

In 1999, the intersection outside of a Green Bay, Wisconsin, metro area elementary 

and middle school complex located near a major highway had become a problem. 

As traffic volume on the adjacent highway grew, local officials became concerned 

about vehicle speed. The county sheriff got involved, and eventually the community 

decided to prohibit children from walking and biking to school out of concern for their 

safety. Plans to build a new high school on the same road were also underway, which 

exacerbated local residents’ safety concerns. 

Local Brown County officials had the option to expand the highway to four lanes 

to accommodate projected growth, adding turn lanes and traffic signals, but 

transportation planners and local residents feared this option would make the school 

zone less safe. The Brown County Planning Commission recommended constructing 

two simple roundabouts to calm traffic in and around the school zones and improve 

safety and access for pedestrians and bicyclists. But local residents, unclear about how 

a roundabout intersection would work, were vocal in their opposition. A concerted 

effort to obtain public support for these school zone roundabouts was needed. 

Approach 

Once transportation planners settled on roundabouts as the best option for 

enhancing the safety and traffic flow of the school zone, they approached the schools’ 

administrators and the local school board to explain what they wanted to do, how a 

roundabout intersection would work, and why they believed it was the safest and best 

option. Planners addressed their concerns, answered their questions, and obtained 

their valuable support, which helped pave the way for a public announcement about 

the plan. 

However, even with this support, local residents resisted this unfamiliar intersection 

alternative. It quickly became apparent that most of those who objected believed 

that roundabouts would increase congestion and possibly cause even more crashes, 

endangering students. There were also several objections based on weather concerns: 

Green Bay averages nearly 50 inches of snowfall per year, and many residents were 

concerned whether the roundabout could be maintained during severe winter 

weather. 

To address the multitude of concerns and misunderstanding regarding roundabouts, 

transportation planning officials visited the elected bodies of the affected communities 

and held public meetings, inviting residents to come and voice their concerns. For 

these meetings, the County provided knowledgeable transportation planning and 

engineering representatives, who educated local residents about the dramatic safety 

benefits of roundabouts. They shared roundabout experiences from other locales, 

such as Vermont and Colorado, that have similar winter climates, which the residents 

accepted as relevant, “apples to apples,” comparisons. 

Planners also brought visual aids to explain the differences between roundabouts 

and traffic circles, which turned out to be extremely useful. By walking through the 

FHWA-SA-11-031 

Revised July 2020
 

Figure 1: Overhead view of the second Lineville 

Road roundabout, neighboring a local school 

complex (in lower left corner). 

Lessons Learned 

• Be prepared. Before approaching 

any individuals or groups, anticipate 

questions and concerns and have the 

information needed to address them. 

• Don’t reinvent the wheel. Roundabouts 

have been used more frequently in 

the last decade, and many localities 

have studied various safety aspects 

of roundabouts. There are a lot of 

statistics available from areas similar to 

those where roundabouts are being 

considered. 

• Perseverance through educational 

outreach is important. 

• Create an image of what the 

reconstructed intersection will look like 

without a roundabout. When people 

see pictures of a roundabout versus 

the multilane signalized intersection 

alternative to accommodate the same 

level of trafc, they often start to 

reconsider the value of a roundabout. 

Learn More 

Jeffrey Shaw 

Intersections Program Manager 

FHWA Office of Safety 

202.738.7793

jefrey.shaw@dot.gov

differences between roundabouts and traffic circles, the County succeeded in shifting 

public perception, and residents became supportive. 

As the roundabouts began to take shape during construction, Green Bay planners 

shuttled groups of students and school officials to the construction site, allowing 

them to walk through the new intersections and discussing how they were going to 

work. The Planning Commission videotaped the “before” intersection and the “after” 

intersection and developed a video to be used for subsequent roundabout outreach in 

the State. 

Results 

Brown County’s outreach efforts paid off: Since 1999, Brown County, the Wisconsin 

Department of Transportation, and the county’s communities have built 26 

roundabouts in the county, and the county and its partners plan to build at least 33 

more within the next 6 years. While many people initially confused roundabouts 

with traffic circles, the concerted effort to educate the public and clarify key 

misunderstandings helped the county successfully gain public support. Targeting the 

school board and administrators whose schools were affected by the change, as well 

as local residents and elected officials, was gutsy but effective. Once construction was 

completed, the increased safety results spoke for themselves. 

A follow-up study conducted in 2001 showed that at one of the roundabout locations, 

the number of vehicles entering the intersection increased from 5,600 per day in 1998 

before the roundabout construction to 10,800 per day in 2001, and yet crashes and 

injuries decreased significantly, from an average of three crashes and five injuries per 

year during the 1996-1998 period to no reported crashes between August 1999 and 

October 2001. 

The sheriff’s department was so pleased with the safety improvements and speed 

calming effects from the roundabouts that, in 2000, the previous prohibition policy was 

reversed, allowing students to walk and bike to school. 

Outreach Investment 

The cost of the outreach effort, relative to the cost of implementing the roundabouts, 

was very low. There was a small investment in slides and staff labor for presentations, 

but aside from labor, there were very few additional investments. 

Related Products 

General Information Website 

“Roundabouts and Traffic Calming,” 

https://www.browncountywi.gov/departments/planning-and-land-services/planning/ 

roundabouts-and-traffic-calming/ 

Presentation 

“Pedestrian Safety at Roundabouts Presentation for Howard-Suamico School Board,” 

http://www.public.applications.co.brown.wi.us/Plan/PlanningFolder/transpotation/ 

Pedestrian%20safety%20at%20roundabouts%20presentation%20(Brown%20 

County%20Planning%20Commission)%20-%20November%2026%20%202007.pdf 

Video 

Lineville Road Roundabout Footage 

http://www.public.applications.co.brown.wi.us/Plan/PlanningFolder/Video/ 

Roundabout/Roundabout_All.WMv 

Study 

Lineville Road Roundabout Study 

https://www.browncountywi.gov/i/f/export/file/lineville_roundabout_study.pdf