They’re loved. They’re hated. They’re the inspiration for innumerable letters to the editor.

Now Lawrence’s roundabouts are a model for the nation.

Transportation officials from 10 states will visit the city on April 26 or 27 to see the city’s roundabouts, part of a Federal Highway Administration tour of traffic-calming devices in northeast Kansas.

“I don’t believe there’s a lot of states that have gotten into roundabouts the way that Kansas has,” said Steve Swartz, a spokesman for the Kansas Department of Transportation. “Turns out there was some interest in it.”

Lawrence officials, who at times have been fiercely criticized for roundabout construction in recent years, couldn’t help but feel satisfied.

Chuck Soules, the city’s director of public works, said the newest roundabout — at 19th Street and Barker Avenue — seems to be making the intersection safer.

“We’ve had no accidents there,” Soules said. “It was one of the highest-ranked corners for accidents before.”

There has been at least one roundabout in Lawrence since 1955, when the Chi Omega fountain was built on Kansas University’s campus. It has apparently inspired few complaints.

City Hall’s new spate of roundabout construction started in 1999, at Harvard Road and Monterey Way. Several have been added since — along with a number of smaller “traffic circles” — inspiring a love-hate relationship with drivers.

Drivers navigate the roundabout at 19th Street and Barker Avenue. City officials say the roundabout there has dramatically cut the number of accidents at the intersection.

“There’s not a lot of middle ground between the two camps,” Swartz said.

Now the city’s roundabouts will be used to illustrate “best practices” on the transportation officials’ tour, which will also take them to Topeka and Kansas City.

Edward Jones lives near the 19th and Barker roundabout. He’s been a critic, and he’s not impressed that federal officials like the devices.

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“When people try and cross traffic, it’s dangerous to cross traffic,” Jones said. “I’ve talked to people that are in wheelchairs, and they seem to have problems. They cannot get across traffic at these points.”

But Steven Maynard-Moody also lives nearby, and he likes how the roundabout slows traffic without entirely stopping it.

“I think they’re pretty cool,” Maynard-Moody said. “There’s a lot of kids in the neighborhood. There’s a lot of walkers in the neighborhood. It makes us feel like the neighborhood isn’t divided by a busy street.”

Though the debate continues, city officials remain committed to roundabouts. The recognition from federal officials may help their case.

“I know some people think they’re inconvenient, but they’re not supposed to be convenient,” Soules said. “They’re supposed to make the traffic safer and slow it down.”