Despite the unfortunate circumstances of the "traffic circle" main street fountain, perhaps we should include more roundabouts in the Comprehensive Plan and Small Planning areas.
Here is an excerpt from a BBC News article....
IS THE BRITISH ROUNDABOUT CONQUERING THE US?
A roundabout revolution is slowly sweeping the US. The land of the car, where the stop sign and traffic light have ruled for decades, has started to embrace the free-flowing British circular....
The Mayor of Carmel, Jim Brainard, has become America's evangelist-in-chief on the matter, demolishing 78 sets of traffic lights and replacing them with those round islands so familiar to drivers in the UK. Four more will be finished in the coming months.
"We have more than any other city in the US," he says, standing proudly in front of one. "It's a trend now in the United States. There are more and more roundabouts being built every day because of the expense saved and more importantly the safety."
He quotes a study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety which suggests there is on average a 40% decrease in all accidents and a 90% drop in fatal ones when a traffic intersection is replaced by a roundabout.
The long-term financial saving is about £150,000, he says, due to reduced maintenance costs, and there are also fuel savings.
"Not just the cars that aren't idling at traffic lights, but starting from a dead stop takes up more fuel also, so we are saving thousands of gallons of fuel per roundabout per year," says the Republican mayor.
"And aesthetically, we think they're much nicer. If one is looking out their living room window, would you prefer to see a blinking traffic light all night or a beautifully landscaped roundabout with a fountain and flowers?"
More in the article here....
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13863498