CONWAY, Ark. — Conway is a city primarily known by two nicknames in Arkansas.
"The City of Colleges" generally comes first, but the "City of Roundabouts" is usually not far behind as the city has the most in the state.
"We have 35 right now,” Conway Mayor Bart Castleberry said.
Castleberry said the city is working on another roundabout at Donaghey, Caldwell and Western and plans to add three more.
According to Castleberry, it all started with the city's rapid expansion before his tenure as mayor began.
"When our growth really started picking up,” Castleberry said. “The mayor and the street director at that time were looking for different alternatives to move traffic in Conway, and they tried out a roundabout, and it seemed to work pretty well."
That roundabout—installed at Washington, Tyler, and Winfield in 2005—has since been joined by 34 others.
But are they an improvement over stoplights?
Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) said yes.
ARDOT published a flyer in June stating that roundabouts resulted in 35% fewer crashes than a typical intersection and 90% fewer fatalities.
"There's just a whole lot more potential danger at a conventional intersection versus the roundabout," ARDOT Public Information Officer Dave Parker said. "If you're driving, you're approaching that roundabout, and you slow down because of the road's curvature. If you do happen to have a crash, that tends to be more of a side-hit damage to your car versus head-on, as with a traditional intersection."
Parker pointed to other reasons why he believes in roundabouts—for one thing, they're faster due to the continuous traffic flow.
There's also less maintenance required than a traffic light.
He said he knows they can be confusing initially, but the benefits are too many to ignore.
"Once you get past that, ‘How do I navigate? How do I maneuver in it?’ I think most people like roundabouts,” Parker said.
Castleberry said that's been Conway's reaction mostly —confusion at first but eventually enthusiasm.
"They've come around,” Castleberry said. “Because they realize that it does, in fact, move traffic, and you can get from point A to point B quicker."
Castleberry said the other three Conway intersections with roundabout plans are Highway 64 West and Hogan Lane, Prince Street and Country Club Road and Salem and Meadowlake Road.
Castleberry said he expects construction to begin on Highway 64 and Hogan sometime next month.