Why are Minneapolis traffic circles different sizes?

A reader contacted us about an extra large traffic circle at Colfax Avenue and 27th Street–the description was accurate. It is larger than most traffic circles and dwarfs the traffic circles on the east side of Lyndale Avenue. 

The reader was concerned because when drivers go around the large traffic circle, the vehicles are forced to cut into the pedestrian crossings when going around the concrete. 

But after talking with a few residents around 27th Street and Colfax Avenue, the size of the traffic circle was the least of their concerns. 

The first thing people mentioned was how glad they were to see the traffic circle, no matter the size. Two people I spoke with had stories of seeing crashes at that very spot. 

So  why is the traffic circle huge at  27th and Colfax but across Lyndale Avenue the traffic circles look like small footballs? We asked the City of Minneapolis, the government agency who has installed this infrastructure. 

Southwest Voices heard back from Ben Brasser, a principal engineer with the City's Public Works' Traffic and Parking Services division. 

"The differences among neighborhood traffic circles installed in the Lowry Hill East and Whittier neighborhoods reflect the different projects and processes which designed and installed them," Brasser said over email.

On the Lowry Hill East side, traffic circles were installed by the Neighborhood Traffic Calming program, which is installing dozens of traffic circles and over 200 speed humps throughout the city in 2026.

The concrete circles are installed based on street width with the purpose of "slowing all vehicle traffic while still allowing large trucks and school buses to travel through the intersection," Brasser said. Large trucks and school buses are still able to travel through the intersections. 

The traffic circles on the Whittier side were installed as part of the Whittier Safe Routes to School program and were designed to accommodate more frequent use of turning buses near Whittier International Elementary School and handle one-way street traffic. 

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