Waukee tells cyclists to walk through busy roundabout

Waukee city staff recently installed new "walk your bike" signs along a busy roundabout to reduce pedestrian accidents near Waukee Middle School.

Why it matters: Pedestrian safety is a growing worry as the metro's suburbs grow and get busier.

State of play: In the last 12 months, drivers hit two middle school-aged students riding their bikes on Warrior Lane roundabout crosswalks, Rudy Koester, Waukee's public works director, tells Axios.

• Both accidents resulted in non-serious injuries.

Driving the news: The new signs were installed this month along with additional signage reminding drivers to yield to pedestrians at crosswalks.

Zoom in: Following the two accidents, city staff video recorded the roundabout to determine what could be improved.

• They discovered that students on bikes were not slowing down near the crosswalks and there wasn't enough time for drivers to respond, Koester says.

What they're saying: Improved street markings, similar to Dutch roundabouts , could better signal who has the right of way and make it more obvious that cyclists have priority, says Alec Davis, founder of Momentum DSM .

• Crosswalks could be further from the roundabout so cars approach head on, rather than from the side, giving more visibility to pedestrians.
• Sharper curvature would slow traffic, Davis says.

Between the lines: The Warrior Lane roundabout helped slow down traffic, resulting in less serious injuries for the two students, Koester says.

• Des Moines is also considering installing more roundabouts to improve safety.

The big picture: As Waukee and the school district grows, there will be more middle school pedestrians and high school drivers, Koester says.

• In 2022, an estimated 8,300 vehicles used the roundabout daily and that's likely higher now, he says.