Calabasas residents characterize their trip to work or to The Commons by the speed bumps they must encounter while driving on Park Sorrento. However, these speed bumps are now gone, and Park Sorrento has a completely different feel. In the beginning of last June, the city of Calabasas decided to attempt to slow down drivers using a different method. Officials had the construction of three new roundabouts completed on Aug. 8, installing them with the motive of efficiently easing and slowing down traffic on the street. Despite these efforts, the new roundabouts on Park Sorrento are a waste of money and space and ultimately provide the opposite purpose than what the city intended.

Built to slow down traffic along the street, the new roundabouts instead serve as a racetrack to satisfy a rush of adrenaline and excitement. When heading west toward The Commons, the roundabouts are situated too far to the right, making drivers yield to a curve much too small and unmanageable. Many interpret this as a challenge to speed through the curve. Not only is this unsafe, but it also does not slow down traffic at all, which defeats the original goal.

“I think [the roundabouts] are a good idea in theory, but they do not slow down traffic correctly,” said junior Lindsay Feder. “Now they are just annoying.”

The city of Calabasas spent over $200,000 on the roundabouts as well as the flowers that serve as embellishment around them. According to The Acorn, a large portion of the sum came from funds toward a new public school in The Oaks gated community, which the city never built. Money drawn from an educational fund should have been used for some sort of educational development. As many Calabasas residents know, the public schools of Calabasas desperately need basic necessities including textbooks, teachers and counselors.

In order to provide room for the new roundabouts, a bike lane was eliminated, which is unfair and dangerous to community bikers and runners. Park Sorrento is a frequently traveled street in the Calabasas community; leaving no space for the numerous bikers and runners of the city is unreasonable.

Calabasas residents have been grumbling with complaints since the beginning of construction, and their complaints are justifiable. The new roundabouts are not beneficial to the community and are not necessary. Most importantly, they are ineffective in slowing down traffic and provide younger drivers with a hazardous source of fun. In addition, they are costly and require the usage of precious funds. All members of the community alike suffer from the roundabouts, making them an overall failure.