A 12-foot circle of yellow flex posts, yield signs, and painted pavement now sits at the intersection of Buena Vista Avenue and Cherrylawn Street on Detroit's west side, right next to Littlefield Playfield and just steps from Noble Elementary-Middle School. The Department of Public Works and the school developed the plan, with elementary school students helping design the solution; questions about the installation circulated online during the same week Local 4 visited.
A Neighborhood Fixture Draws a Second Look
The setup sits in Detroit's Littlefield neighborhood, a residential area on the city's west side where the intersection's proximity to both a park and a school has made it a natural flashpoint for foot traffic concerns, according to ClickOnDetroit. A question about the so-called DIY roundabout had been circulating online that week as the station's Local 4 team set out to explain where it came from and why it was there. When Local 4 visited the intersection, reporters documented at least five vehicles, including a U.S. Postal Service delivery truck, either navigating the circle incorrectly or stopping in apparent confusion.
Residents told the station they are worried about more than just confused drivers. Tight turning radii and winter driving clearance were both raised as concerns by people living near the makeshift circle, the station's report notes. It is a familiar tension for any tactical, low-budget street project: the yellow flex posts and yield signs are meant to slow traffic down, while residents have also raised concerns about delivery trucks.
Not the Neighborhood's First Street Project
A separate Littlefield quick-build curb-extension project involved city staff and Noble Elementary-Middle School students at Fullerton Avenue and Cherrylawn Street. The curb-extension project was distinct from the roundabout at Buena Vista and Cherrylawn.
The stakes around that stretch of sidewalk are real. Federal transportation reports classify Littlefield as an Area of Persistent Poverty and a Historically Disadvantaged Community, where roughly 300 students walk to Noble Elementary-Middle School each day through streets shaped by decades of infrastructure disinvestment, per the same Pedestrian & Bicycle Information Center documentation. Residents and school partners have advocated for safety improvements, including quick-build projects.
How the DIY Circle Fits Into Detroit's Traffic Playbook
Detroit's Department of Public Works has a speed-hump program. The city announced plans in March to install 312 new speed humps, part of a citywide initiative that has placed more than 11,400 of them on residential streets since 2016, according to the City of Detroit. The program is part of a citywide effort to add speed humps on residential streets.
Buena Vista and Cherrylawn sits beside both a school and a playfield. A roundabout, even a makeshift one, is a different tool than a speed hump.
Roundabouts as an Intersection Design
Roundabouts offer a different way to organize traffic at intersections. The Buena Vista and Cherrylawn installation is a makeshift circular setup.
The Congress for the New Urbanism provided technical assistance for a 9 Mile Road redesign in Oak Park, as detailed in the planning document. The Buena Vista and Cherrylawn installation is a separate effort.
The circle drew wider social media and television attention this month. Local 4 reported questions about it circulating online that week and documented a delivery truck among vehicles either navigating the circle incorrectly or stopping in apparent confusion.
