City: Roundabouts near downtown Sioux Falls to become permanent

Traffic-calming controls piloted earlier this year along Ninth Street

Circular intersections called roundabouts are coming to the heart of South Dakota’s largest city.

More than a decade ago, the city of Sioux Falls installed its first ever roundabout, a method of controlling traffic at road crossings without the use of traffic signals or stop signs, and has since placed a half dozen more throughout the city. But those have primarily been on the outskirts of town.

That’s changing this month when a pair of roundabouts are installed along crossings on Ninth Street at Duluth and Prairie Avenues.

The Public Works Department earlier this year began a pilot at those intersections to test the use of roundabouts using temporary road markings and barriers. A neighborhood meeting also brought feedback on whether area residents wanted them.

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