{"id":258269,"date":"2026-04-08T22:10:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T22:10:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/258269\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T22:10:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T22:10:10","slug":"absurdity-of-traffic-calming-california-car-roundabouts-laid-bare-in-viral-clip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/258269\/","title":{"rendered":"Absurdity of \u2018traffic calming\u2019 California car roundabouts laid bare in viral clip"},"content":{"rendered":"

An effort to slow speeding vehicles by installing roundabouts on Fresno\u2019s streets<\/a> has been roundly mocked \u2014 as a viral clip shows a driver blowing right by the \u201ctraffic calming\u201d measure.<\/p>\n

At the gateway to Old Fig Garden along Wishon Avenue, the traffic circle is meant to forces motorists to slow down and loop around the raised concrete circle instead of driving straight through.<\/p>\n

Fresno, California, is famously known as the \u201cRaisin Capital of the World.\u201d Getty Images<\/p>\n

But a neighbor posted a clip on TikTok of a truck driver speeding past the small structure<\/a> without so much as tapping the brakes, calling the feature \u201ca nuisance and a complete eyesore.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI dread them putting one in front of my house,\u201d the user wrote.<\/p>\n

The traffic circle was installed last year after residents pushed for action to combat speeding along the tree-lined stretch connecting Old Fig Garden and the Tower District.<\/p>\n

@ciscotek<\/a> <\/p>\n

The @City of Fresno, California installed these round abouts on my block due to a neighbor house being crashed into and safe to say the do NOT work. If anything there are a nuisance and a complete eyesore. I dread them putting one in front of my house.<\/p>\n

\u266c original sound \u2013 Ciscotek<\/a> <\/p>\n

Locals haven\u2019t exactly embraced the changes. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have not got a lot of positive reactions,\u201d Councilman Nelson Esparza, who secured funding for the project\u2019s design and construction, told The Fresno Bee<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The roundabout effort in Fresno traces back to 2019. Getty Images<\/p>\n

The layout has proven difficult to navigate,\u00a0especially for trucks and larger vehicles, and some drivers simply ignore it altogether \u2014 as seen in the viral TikTok clip.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not a roundabout. That\u2019s a concrete circle in the middle of an intersection,\u201d wrote one commenter on the video, which has been viewed more 1.6 million times at the time of writing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a straightabout,\u201d a second commenter joked.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe roundabout is a suggestion,\u201d a third added.<\/p>\n

Studies followed, but the intersection didn\u2019t meet the requirements for stop signs. Getty Images<\/p>\n

The effort traces back to 2019, when Esparza first took office and encountered what he described as a flood of constituents raising concerns about speeding traffic on Wishon Avenue.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt seems to have caused more issues for residences than anything,\u201d he admitted.<\/p>\n

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Studies followed, but the intersection didn\u2019t meet the requirements for stop signs under state and federal standards. Speed bumps weren\u2019t an option either, the Fresno Bee reported.<\/p>\n

A second circle planned for Wishon and Fountain Way remains unfinished.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere nearby, another neighborhood took a similar approach.<\/p>\n

The exact locations were selected based on neighborhood input.<\/p>\n

Residents there had also complained about speeding, particularly from drivers heading north out of the Olive Avenue commercial area toward McKinley. Getty Images<\/p>\n

In the Wilson Island Historic District, two roundabouts were added late last year along Echo Avenue at Pine and Floradora.<\/p>\n

Residents there had also complained about speeding, particularly from drivers heading north out of the Olive Avenue commercial area toward McKinley, per the Fresno Bee.<\/p>\n

According to the city, the installations were incorporated into an existing repaving project and funded using leftover money after the work came in under budget.<\/p>\n

The exact locations were selected based on neighborhood input and traffic engineering considerations.<\/p>\n

These smaller versions mirror traditional roundabouts, which guide vehicles counterclockwise around a central island to keep traffic moving while reducing speed.<\/p>\n

The design also requires drivers to yield when entering or exiting, improving safety for other cars, as well as bicyclists and pedestrians.<\/p>\n

For Esparza, the mixed response underscores the challenge of responding to neighborhood demands.<\/p>\n

After complaints surfaced, he halted plans for the second Wishon roundabout.<\/p>\n

Now, he\u2019s looking at how to redesign the existing circle on Wishon Avenue.<\/p>\n

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