Sometimes, city council debates just go around in circles.

Urbana City Council heard and debated a presentation on the feasibility of roundabouts at the intersections of Philo Road and Florida Avenue and at Windsor Road and Race Street.

City council ordered a study on roundabouts because infrastructure at the intersections — traffic lights at Philo and Florida and pavement at Windsor and Race — needed repair. The study recommended that a roundabout be installed at Philo and Florida but said the cost was prohibitively high — $851,000 more than a traffic signal would cost — at the other intersection.

In some cases, roundabouts can improve the flow of traffic and reduce the rate of collisions, according to the study.

However, several Urbana residents said they were worried about pedestrian safety, especially pedestrians with visual impairments.

“My number one concern about this is the question of how a person with a disability, particularly someone who is blind or has low vision, knows when they can cross the street,” said Esther Patt, Urbana resident. “Everyone should be able to cross an intersection.”

The proposed roundabout is very close to Persons Assuming Control of their Environment, or PACE, which serves many people with visual disabilities. Several of the people who spoke work at or regularly visit PACE.

Mark Lenters, president of Ourston Roundabout Engineering,led the survey and gave a presentation to the council. He said while he is not an expert on the accessibility of roundabouts, there are a few devices designed to help those with visual impairments. For example, there are devices that a person with a visual impairment could press to make a red light flash, signaling vehicles to stop and wait for him or her to cross.

Mayor Laurel Prussing suggested looking at neighboring cities that use roundabouts, such as Carmel, Ind.,and finding out how they make roundabouts safe for those with handicaps.

Lenters highlighted several benefits of roundabouts. He said a roundabout at Philo and Florida would improve efficiency by 50 percent during peak times. He added that the roundabout would reduce crashes that cause injury, which would save $920,000 over 20 years.

Another worry about the roundabouts was their high cost. The roundabout at Florida and Philo would cost $790,000, while replacing the traffic lights, which have reached the end of their usable light, would cost $240,000.

Bill Gray, director of public works,said he did not know where the extra $550,000 would come from, but he could say that other projects would have to be delayed.

City council did not vote whether to implement any plans for either intersection.

Because the last two city council meetings were canceled, there was a special meeting to address unresolved agenda items.

In that meeting, city council voted to approve two ordinances: one authorizing the sale of 107 E. Oregon St. to the owner of the adjacent property and another for the farmers market to accept a grant to help it accept LINK cards, formerly known as food stamps.