Why are roundabouts so rare in the United States?

Because they take up tons of space, and also nobody knows how to use them.

There's a neighbourhood near me infamous for having roundabouts instead of stop signs. That's where everyone goes to fail their driving test LOL

Idk they’re pretty common in my area, they’ve even been adding new ones. Personally I avoid them when possible because they bring out the worst in aggressive and indifferent drivers. We don’t have them in residential areas or anything like that though, usually areas with heavy traffic. And they’re usually too small for trucks to get through.

Roundabouts have def been around since long before the early 90’s. There actually used to be more, but they took many out for a while, and now they’re back en vogue. Sorry NYT. 

Yeah umm, us too. Lmao. They’re kind of a nightmare in heavy snow, which flat out needs to be hauled away after building up more than a foot or so. They tend to be right off highways so I guess the idea is to keep traffic moving rather than bogging down into it. I don’t mind them as much when there isn’t several lanes. The iconic one in Portsmouth off the interstate (95, that runs down the east coast) is a hotbed for chaos lol. The way people weave in and out of traffic can be terrifying and one of the few places where I genuinely don’t mind cops hanging out looking to give tickets. I lowkey feel like an idiot driving in them because I have trouble deciphering what others are doing and get paranoid that I shouldn’t go. 

Basically you need a loader and a truck to haul it away, which pretty much has to be done at night to avoid traffic issues. In some of the smaller ones it must be a tight fit. There’s been this trend around here lately, which we’re almost convinced is following plans designed elsewhere, to build all of these little areas along roads/sidewalks that jut out into the road. It’s decorative but pretty much asking for trouble in the snow.