Remember this name: William Phelps Eno. An American businessman born in the mid-1800s, he is considered the "father of road safety" for the many innovations attributed to him in this field: traffic lights, pedestrian crossings, turn signals, roundabouts. It is from him that we want to start to trace a brief history of the roundabout, which today is widely used and sometimes overused.
The ancestor of the roundabout seems to be Piccadilly Circus in London, built in 1819. But on this large ring, two-way traffic was allowed, which nullified the goal of decongesting the already intense traffic in that area of the British capital.
It was William Phelps Eno, however, who proposed the first one-way roundabout for Columbus Circle in New York City in 1903. A few years later, in 1907, the French urban planner and architect Eugene Henard built the first French (and European) roundabout in Paris at Place de l'Etoile. This famous square is the origin point of twelve streets!
In 1926 in England, the term "roundabout" replaced the original "gyratory." On roundabouts, the rule was to give way to the right: vehicles on the ring had to give way to vehicles entering. From 1966, this changed, and the off-side priority was introduced: priority goes to vehicles on the ring.
Italy was a little late to the party. The first roundabout was built only in 1989, in Lecco. However, we have caught up since around 2000, and today these particular "at-grade intersections" number in the thousands. Indeed, engineers invite us to carefully consider whether they are always the best solution.
To conclude this brief history of the roundabout, a curious fact that brings a smile. William Phelps Eno never obtained a driver's license, always relying on a chauffeur. Despite his veiled personal distrust of cars, his inventions have shaped our roads.
