Does Kalamazoo Have the Worst Roundabouts in Michigan?

This Kalamazoo neighborhood has the strangest roundabouts in Michigan.

Roundabouts can be a hot-button topic in Michigan.  Before we talk about the very strange roundabouts I found in Kalamazoo's Edison Neighborhood, let's talk about why we have these things in the first place.  The fact is, there are still drivers who don't understand how to navigate a roundabout properly.  Here are three important points that roundabout haters should keep in mind.

Three Michigan Roundabout Facts

1. Roundabouts have fewer accidents than the intersections that they replace.
2. There are fewer traffic backups with roundabouts.
3. Anything is better than the Michigan left turn.

Michigan.gov hits two of those three points home with this statement about roundabouts,

Roundabouts have been proven to safely decrease traffic delays and congestion. When selected and designed correctly, roundabouts can handle a high volume of traffic, including commercial trucks and large emergency vehicles.

With all of that being said, I think roundabouts are awesome when people drive on them correctly.  However, what is this?

There are a series of tiny roundabouts in Kalamazoo's Edison neighborhood.  The one pictured above is the intersection of James Street and Lay Blvd.  All of these roundabouts are likely less than a year old as they can't be found in the most recent Google Street View pictures from August 2023.  If I'm being honest, I didn't think they were actual roundabouts until I saw the sign below which indicates that a roundabout is coming up.

You can't safely make a left turn without going around the small round barrier, so I guess this is a roundabout.

Sure, roundabouts are safer.  However, there are still accidents.  There is a Kalamazoo roundabout that made the list of the 10 most dangerous roundabouts in Michigan.