A Better Way to Get Around

Blanchard said the city's interest in traffic circles stemmed largely from a 2003 analysis by Burden's company of the town's overall traffic and walkability. That study recommended roundabouts to slow traffic, make streets more pedestrian-friendly, provide places for public landscaping and reduce the amount of paved surfaces.

"We went through a whole period where everything was designed to make it easier to get places as fast as possible," Blanchard said. "Now, we're trying to put more emphasis on how to make places more livable and walkable and bikeable."

Drivers' reactions to the new traffic circles are mixed. On a recent weekday morning, Terrie Thomas of Takoma Park was watching vehicles negotiate the orange cones near her house on Garland Avenue. At first, drivers seemed confused by the new pattern and some rushed through regardless of other traffic, she said.

"But those are probably just the people who don't stop at stop signs anyway," Thomas said. "Now everyone seems to be abiding by it."

Like other recent traffic circles in Takoma Park, the proposed one on her street will be built only if two-thirds of neighborhood residents approve.

Burden said drivers are typically reluctant to embrace roundabouts but generally come to like them. Research routinely shows, he said, that 70 percent of residents oppose them before they are built and then 70 percent approve them after using them a few months.

"It's a huge switch that occurs, from a fear of change to 'My gosh, why didn't we do this a long time ago?,' " he said.

Ann Riley of Takoma Park was dubious.

"To me, a traffic circle is something that helps the flow of traffic, but it doesn't slow it down," said Riley, who was walking her dogs near the Garland Avenue roundabout.

She said she worried about pedestrian safety on the neighborhood's narrow, sidewalk-free streets. "It's almost impossible to cross the circle if traffic is flowing."

Some traffic experts share her worry that unless traffic circles are appropriately designed, they can be more dangerous for pedestrians.

"The concern is that traffic doesn't stop," said Larry Cole, a transportation expert with the Montgomery Planning Board. "When it comes to drivers yielding to pedestrians, we have pretty poor behavior around here."