Journal Editorial: Roundabouts are coming. Ready or not.

There are few things that can divide a community faster than politics, snow removal, property taxes ... and now, circles.

Preparation for Brandon’s first roundabout is underway on West Holly Boulevard, and if public comment is any indication, some people are already preparing for what they believe will be the traffic apocalypse.

Their concerns are understandable.

For many Brandon drivers, this will be their first experience navigating a roundabout on a daily basis. Change has a way of making even confident drivers uneasy. Add in teenage drivers, distracted motorists, semis, farm equipment, emergency vehicles and winter weather, and it’s easy to see why some residents are asking, “Why fix something that isn’t broken?”

Long-range plans call for several more along the Holly Boulevard/Rice Street corridor over the coming years, eventually creating a chain of roundabouts from Brandon to Sioux Falls. Another is planned for the busy intersection of Splitrock and Aspen boulevards near the Veterans Memorial. The state has pushed that one back to 2031.

For those who already dislike the first one, hearing there could eventually be seven or eight more isn’t exactly comforting. But before we condemn them, it’s worth asking why engineers continue building them.

It isn’t because they enjoy making drivers dizzy.

Traffic engineers point to decades of research showing that roundabouts reduce serious crashes. They slow vehicles without bringing traffic to a complete stop. Fewer vehicles sitting at red lights means less idling, less fuel consumption and, in many cases, shorter waits during busy traffic periods.

Instead of T-bone crashes that often occur at traditional intersections, most accidents in roundabouts tend to be lower-speed sideswipes or fender-benders.

To be clear, they don’t fully take accidents out of the equation, but they do change the kind of accidents that happen.

Anyone who has driven through an unfamiliar roundabout knows there can be moments of uncertainty. Which lane am I supposed to be in? Do I signal? Does that other driver know what they’re doing?

Sometimes the biggest challenge isn’t your own driving. It’s wondering whether everyone else understands the rules.

That uncertainty is real, especially during the first few months after a roundabout opens.

Learning curves can be frustrating.

But let’s be honest with ourselves.

People once said similar things about four-way stops, diverging diamond interchanges, zipper merging and even seat belts. Nearly every major traffic change has been greeted with skepticism before eventually becoming routine.

That doesn’t mean every roundabout is a good idea.

Some locations make sense. Others may not.

Every proposed intersection deserves careful evaluation based on traffic counts, safety data, future growth and cost – not simply because roundabouts have become the latest trend in road design.

Residents deserve clear explanations from planners about why each location was selected and what benefits are expected. And as the local news source, the Journal will do their best to keep you informed when that time comes.

Public input shouldn’t be viewed as resistance to progress but as part of making good decisions. At the same time, dismissing every roundabout simply because it’s unfamiliar probably isn’t the best approach either.

Perhaps the best advice is this: Let’s give the town’s first roundabout a fair chance.

Drive it.

Learn it.

Experience it.

If it improves traffic flow and reduces crashes, perhaps some of today’s skeptics will become tomorrow’s supporters.

If it creates problems engineers didn’t anticipate, then those concerns deserve to be addressed honestly.

After all, no traffic design is perfect.

Whether you’re a fan of roundabouts or not, one thing is certain.

They’re no longer just a concept.

They’re here.

And in the months to come, we will all need to learn how to go with the flow.