A circle of confusion

Who's responsible: D.C. Department of Transportation

For tourists and new D.C. drivers, the many traffic circles in D.C. are about as popular as the current Congress. The roundabouts create logjams, bring about odd maneuvers and cause widespread confusion (well, kind of like Congress).

One griper said it gets worse on the west side of Dupont Circle because there are no directional signs giving drivers indications which lane they should be in to exit onto Massachusetts Avenue heading southeast, though they exist on the circle's east side.

John Lisle, a District Department of Transportation spokesman, said he was looking into the issue. However, he said sign replacement is a much faster process than requesting new signs. A missing stop sign is usually replaced in 24 hours. A missing street sign should be replaced within 45 days. However, requests for new signs must be investigated and, if an engineer decides a sign is needed, must be approved and published in the D.C. Register.

The process can take up to six months.