Les Hannon believes a day will soon come when traffic circles create a costly lawsuit for the city instead of just angry complaints.

Hannon, who lives next to a traffic circle along Harvard Road, said the city had set itself up for trouble by recently approving an ordinance that allows people to turn left in front of the traffic-calming devices instead of making the loop around the circle. By turning in front of the circle, drivers must go into someone else’s lane of traffic.

“We’re just asking for trouble with that rule,” Hannon said. “If we get a head-on collision at one of these traffic circles, it could cost the city a bundle.”

Hannon said he and his wife, Pat, had already experienced some close calls with “brakes screeching and horns honking.”

“The real problem, though, is at night,” Hannon said. “Having a pair of headlights coming right at you is no fun.”

Les and Pat Hannon moved into a new house by a traffic circle on Harvard Road six weeks ago. They have complained to the city about the legality of making left turns without going around the circle, saying that it creates a dangerous situation.

City staff members recommended – and commissioners approved – the left-turn ordinance last month because city engineers said many of the traffic circles were too small to allow pickup trucks or larger vehicles to make a left-hand turn by “making the loop” and going through the circle.

David Woosley, the city’s traffic engineer, said he thought the new rule didn’t create a safety hazard as long as drivers followed the ordinance, which requires drivers making a left-hand turn to come to a stop and yield to any vehicle in the area.

“As long as the drivers abide by the law, you shouldn’t have any head-on crashes,” Woosley said. “It is like anything else, if the drivers don’t abide by the law, there could be problems.”

Woosley also said the ordinance had received approval by the city’s attorneys before it was blessed by commissioners. Woosley noted that other legal traffic maneuvers require people to enter into someone else’s lane of traffic, such as passing another vehicle on a two-lane highway.

Some city commissioners, though, said they might rethink their decision on the left-hand turn ordinance.

“I think after seeing over the last couple of weeks how the traveling public uses these traffic circles, we have probably created a situation where there could be an accident,” City Commissioner Mike Amyx said. “I think we need to talk about it some more.”

City Commissioner Mike Rundle said he thought the new rule may be causing confusion about how to properly use the traffic circles and roundabouts.

“It probably doesn’t help people learn how to use them by having this confusing idea out there,” Rundle said.

Woosley said city engineers believe vehicles that can make the loop should do so rather than turning in front of the traffic circle. The ordinance doesn’t allow turning in front of roundabouts, which generally are larger versions of traffic circles and have medians at their entrances.

Hannon said he believed the city should consider removing traffic circles that are too small and replacing them with stop signs. And Hannon said he likes the concept of traffic circles and roundabouts. He grew up in Northern Ireland and lived in many foreign countries where they are commonplace.

“I think these (devices) are the greatest thing in the world, if they are used right,” Hannon said. “But my wife is a little terrified of them now, and she had been used to them for years.”