{"id":773339,"date":"2026-05-04T20:37:52","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T20:37:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/773339\/"},"modified":"2026-05-04T20:37:52","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T20:37:52","slug":"circles-in-a-row-who-wore-it-best","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/773339\/","title":{"rendered":"Circles in a Row – Who Wore It Best?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I like traffic circles. Especially bigger ones with mature trees. But I also find that one random circle is generally not quite enough to make an otherwise car-centric street a welcoming safe place to bike and walk. So I like it when cities line up multiple circles in a row.<\/p>\n

I will bike pretty much anywhere, but I prefer to bike on quieter streets. Some of the best examples of these traffic-calmed streets combine circles with other calming features, like diverters\/modal filters<\/a>. These calmed-corridor bike\/walk-friendly streets go by a few names; they\u2019re typically called bicycle boulevards<\/a> or neighborhood greenways<\/a>. These are relatively quiet streets safely shared by cyclists, pedestrians, and drivers \u2013 where cities have taken steps to calm traffic and prioritize walking and bicycling.<\/p>\n

Several Southern California cities line up traffic circles in a row to create these sorts of calmed corridors. These are all worthwhile, but not all circles-in-a-row facilities are created equal.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Three circles lined up on Rosewood Avenue in West Hollywood. Base image Google Maps<\/p>\n

Below is my subjective report card on how cities have lined up traffic circles \u2013 and combined them with additional features \u2013 to facilitate streets that welcome bicycling and walking.<\/p>\n

Two caveats: <\/p>\n

Santa Monica: A-<\/p>\n

I think that the most successful Southern California circles-in-a-row facility is Santa Monica\u2019s Michigan Avenue Neighborhood Greenway<\/strong>, called MANGo.<\/p>\n

\"\"Roundabout at Michigan and 12th Street in Santa Monica \u2013 2025 Google Street View photo<\/p>\n

I remember thinking early on (at the time of this 2016 Streetfilm<\/a>) that the MANGo mini-roundabouts felt small, ineffective. But lately (see last month\u2019s short SBLA ride-through video<\/a>), the ride feels much improved. <\/p>\n

There are more circles, the sycamore trees are now a couple stories tall, and the city greatly improved the east end of the project by adding a strategic 700-feet long bike path\/lane connection<\/a> to get cyclists safely over the 10 Freeway.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The city opened its initial basic version of MANGo in 2015<\/a>. Three subsequent projects \u2013 in 2017, 2023 (17th Street)<\/a> and 2024 (20th Street)<\/a> \u2013 added more features, including great bike network connections to the Metro E Line and to Santa Monica College. There are longer-term plans to continue to extend MANGo<\/a> further east and west.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Short MANGo cut-through path at 20th Street<\/p>\n