Copyright Charleston Post and Courier
YORK COUNTY — It’s 32-8. That’s not the score of last night’s football game. For transportation experts constantly seeking ways to make roads safer, it’s the safety ratio between a standard four-way intersection versus roundabouts, which have been increasingly common in York County for the last 15 years, including a couple added in 2025. “There's 32 points of conflict at a traditional intersection, meaning there's 32 different ways you can get in a wreck,” said Patrick Hamilton, assistant engineer for transportation for York County. “With the roundabout, that number gets dropped to eight. That’s obviously a huge drop. And it eliminates the need for a traffic signal, which is always good and help keeps traffic flowing.” Roundabouts replace the “plus” sign of a standard intersection with a circle, with all traffic moving to the right, then exiting to continue straight, right or left. Traffic officials said this has proven to reduce crashes. Though quite a few roundabouts exist across York County, some motorists are struggling to comprehend the newest one, under construction where S.C. Highway 321 converges with Filbert Highway, between Clover and the town of York. “You see people going the wrong way,” said Peggy Hargett, co-owner of the Bargain City Grocery, which sits at the intersection. “You see the traffic barrels are squashed from people driving into them.” Previously, yield signs directed motorists through the “Y” shaped intersection here. Hargett, who has operated the store with her husband since 1998, also lives next door to Bargain City. She hopes once the construction is complete and lighting is added for nighttime travel, motorists will become accustomed to the new traffic pattern. The roundabout is a South Carolina Department of Transportation project. As construction continues on the partially opened roundabout, confusion about the traffic flow is to be expected, Hamilton said. And roundabouts are still sparse enough that there’s a learning curve when a new one comes in. “A lot of times with these projects, when they first open the new design to traffic, the project itself is not fully finished,” he said. “A lot of people will maybe overreact, thinking that's going to be the final layout, and it may be a little confusing.” At the corner store, Hargett has filmed videos of traffic circling the roundabout and shared the clips to the Bargain City Facebook page. Another problem she’s encountered with the construction is the stopped traffic, sometimes up to 30 minutes. Thus, besides using social media to update customers about the construction, she’s also making sure they know it’s business as usual at the shop. “We’re definitely open,” she said. “We have to make a living.” More roundabouts are on the way. SCDOT is holding at drop-in public meeting on Nov. 13 for a proposed roundabout for S.C. Highway 324 at S-101, also known as Mobley Store Road or Ogden Road in York County. The meeting is set for 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Oakdale Elementary School, located at 1129 Oakdale Road in Rock Hill. Transportation officials are also accepting comments on the SCDOR web site for the project.
