By Janet Perez | Florence Independent
They may be run-of-the-mill in other countries, but American drivers generally look at roundabouts with trepidation if not outright hostility.
It doesn’t seem to matter that various studies have shown roundabouts reduce serious accidents, decrease road congestion and save cities money.
Here in the Valley, while some cities are experiencing resistance to roundabouts from local governments and residents, some communities are seeing acceptance and others are just starting to dive into roundabouts.
The Arizona Department of Transportation has built 71 roundabouts across the states with another coming online soon in Page.
There could be hundreds more in Arizona, as that figure does not reflect the number of roundabouts being built by cities and towns within their own municipalities or even developers as traffic-calming measures in their own subdivisions.
