Personally, I went from hating this idea, to loving it after I starting driving in them.

After spending time driving in Carmel, I can't stand traffic lights anymore. Everything got downgraded in my mind: Traffic lights became stop signs, stop signs became yield, yield became...well still yield (I'm not a sociopath).

Sound places have built terrible versions of roundabouts, so I'm sure those populations aren't impressed.

I did drive through one that was off an interstate exit and had heavy tractor-trailer traffic, that actually directly connected to a truck stop. To my surprise, it was glorious. It was fairly large, so the trucks had plenty of ability to go around without running over curbs, and it made all the traffic going in and out of the big truck stop / gas station pretty smooth. I was genuinely impressed. I think it was southern Indiana around the 69 project, but I can't remember.

They are superior intersections. The only complaints about them are 'I don't like them' or 'people here don't know how to use them', both of which are just symptoms of not having used them enough yet.

Roundabouts are great when everyone knows how to use them. Unfortunately in the United States nobody knows how to use a yield sign or turn signals, let alone how to navigate a circle in the middle of the road. Here, everyone thinks they have the right of way, unless a box with different colored lights tells them otherwise.

They also make them waaaaay too small, in my opinion.

I don't love them or hate them, but I appreciate how much safer they are.

I generally like them, but there are a few implementations that are terrible as a pedestrian and cyclist. My number one gripe is when the protected crossing area is too narrow to wait in when riding a bike. I've come across a couple that are narrow enough that my toes hang into the intersection. Basically no protection at all

I live right next to an intersection that was a 4 way stop that was changed to a roundabout. I hear way more honking now than I did when it was a 4 way stop. People just don't understand yielding.

Hello neighbor, Ohioian here. Columbus began using roundabouts about 10-12 years ago (or at least that's when I started noticing them). They are vastly superior to four way and two way stops, and greatly superior to signaled interactions in most cases.

Where i see the biggest issues are in multi-lane intersections. Like, three or more lanes, not counting a right turn lane. It takes a LOT of planning and work from the engineering department to properly covert multi-lane intersections to roundabouts, but it is doable.

The cons are mostly related US car culture and "more lanes=better" old school thinking. If the DOT has the political will or a public mandate to do roundabouts right, it'll succeed. Naysayers will eventually grumble at parties and generally be ignored.

Roundabouts are just better because of being safer, like less lethal or injuries in general for bikes and pedestrians. No waiting for a red light when there is no other traffic, fluid traffic., less pollution.

10 years ago every traffic stop got replaced for a roundabout in my town. It is so much better, quicker and safer.

Something I've noticed but I haven't been able to find any data on is that roundabouts seem to be bad for pedestrians in a high foot traffic area.

Even if drivers know how to navigate a roundabout in America (and that's a big if), adding pedestrian crossing to the mix seems to confuse drivers even more. And for the pedestrian, the near constant flow of traffic is intimidating.

Again, in have no data here. But if I'm crossing a road on foot or with a bicycle, I'd rather have a stop light.

(Europe has been doing them since…forever)?

Actually, the roundabout was an American invention! Granted, we ignored it and Europe ran with it, but what could be more American than that?

This might be American brain but I don't much care for multilane roundabouts esp when its busy. I find it difficult to find openings and judge where vehicles are, especially on small diamater ones. I also dislike the ones with like a right turn bypass that directly mergs into the same lane as the roundabout exit lane. On tight roundabouts its hard to tell if someone is exiting or continuing. Perhaps the ones near me are not set up right.

I do love single lane ones.

I love them this intersection I hate needs to become a roundabout

South Florida chiming in to say they're great, if and only if people understand them. And understanding requires building them big enough that people don't go "weird bump in the middle of this two-way stop."

Admittedly a huge aspect of that problem is Florida drivers. Our road-going population is an even blend of people so old they could be in congress, overly-cautious Canadians with no sense of direction, pristine 1980s Toyotas that obey every law because they don't have insurance, and (varying by coast) New Yorkers who view driving as ritual combat or midwesterners who'll wave six cars through a four-way stop.

Personally I'm a huge fan of the German model, which is often an enormous ring with perpendicular junctions attached. It immediately conveys how incoming traffic is intruding on traffic in the circle. Ze Germans are very serious about right-of-way. Honestly I don't even trust people down here to understand you have to stop at the stop sign, not just, in the lane, at some point, behind a guy who did. Similar issue to California drivers not getting that you have to stop at the stop sign, not just crawl through and hope for the best.

Maybe there's a reason I've been optimistic about self-driving cars.

@redfox Love them. Forces cars to slow down to a less than killing speed instead of a stop sign or light that can be blown through at 50 MPH. #CarsRuinEverything

Visitor from NH here. A nearby town has been systematically replacing all their intersections with roundabouts, and it's noticeably improved traffic every time. Once people learn how to use them, they work wonders (even the two-lane ones)!

OMG, a video:

https://youtu.be/aZDAxcLU-oQ?si=AzFScngwEn9RBr8o

As someone who recently started commuting to and from Carmel for work every day and occasionally running to get lunch in Carmel I find them both annoying and useful. Depending on where I’m going it actually adds a bit of frustration and time getting lunch in one area I use. But a larger figure 8 one does make it much quicker and more efficient to get to the freeway. The few roundabouts we have in the area I live in mostly help with traffic but Ive lost count how many times someone has almost T-boned me or cut over lanes nearly hitting me to stay straight when the lane they were in was meant for staying around the roundabout. Also, having a roundabout right before/after a main signal intersection is the most idiotic idea. That roundabout is always congested and causes traffic to back up into other intersections.

Don't hate the idea but the few that I've been on around my parts seemed like they were an after thought.

Turning an old 4-way intersection into a tiny roudabout with a giant "feature" in the middle that makes it hard to see traffic coming across the way. Sometimes the circle so tight I feel like a racecar driver going 60 instead of a commuter motorist going 20, either way its about 50/50 whether I feel like I'm cutting off vehicles on my right as I'm trying to turn onto the street just past where somebody else pulled into the roundabout. A few other times, when driving someplace I don't normally drive, the roundabouts are very large and spacious but blend in so well I don't realize I'm coming up on one.