Some cities listen to complaints about traffic circles, but not San Diego

Re “Encinitas commission backs changes to roundabout signage” (Sept. 15): Congrats to Encinitas and Carlsbad residents who have been able to stir responses from their elected officials on the issue of retrofitting traffic circles into intersections. As the Federal Highway Administration recognizes, they are not roundabouts; mixing up the terms is akin to calling a gorilla an orangutan.

I live on a corner next to a 4-year-old San Diego traffic circle. What we lost in needed neighborhood parking was traded for noise and risk. We have random, round-the-clock honking and yelling, the sound of cars driving over the “improvements,” spectacular crashes involving airborne cars and flattened cyclists, tricky pedestrian crossings and a forest of signs. We have hours of video of the chaos.

Our written requests to the city for help are ignored — and that’s where I really envy Carlsbad and Encinitas residents. Their governments listen!

— Marty Graham, San Diego