Can US Cities Tame Drivers’ Outrage Over Roundabouts?
Also today: Can states hit the brakes on runaway roadbuilding, and a reopening of Amsterdam's “ugliest building.”
A roundabout in Minneapolis’ Minnehaha Falls Park.
Photographer: David Brewster/Star Tribune via Getty Images
In Ashland, Kentucky, city commissioner Joshua Blanton believes his avid support for installing roundabouts downtown helped sink his bid for mayor. Before the November election, he recalled, residents turned hostile at community meetings about the installations, while businesses blamed construction for revenue drops and traffic snarls.
Unlike in France, the UK and other countries that embrace the circular intersections, proposals to replace traffic lights with roundabouts in US cities are routinely met with community opposition — despite their contribution to saving lives, taming traffic and cutting emissions. Part of the resistance, writes contributor John Surico, can be attributed to a lack of familiarity with the model and challenges around messaging. Today on CityLab: Can American Drivers Learn to Love Roundabouts?