AUBURN – There is nothing scary about roundabouts in traffic intersections, and city officials have the video and the toy cars to prove it.

The first of two Turner Street roundabouts should open in July, in the intersection between Wal-Mart and the city’s new Mt. Auburn Plaza retail development.

“People think they are going to work like a rotary, with cars traveling fast,” said Maureen Aube, city community business specialist. “But these are very different and they are easy to use and we think people are going to get used to them pretty quickly.”

But Aube said the city isn’t taking any chances. They’ve obtained four videos created by Wisconsin-based engineering firm Ourston Roundabout Engineering. All are scheduled to air on Great Falls TV’s public access channel this week. One of them will be available for download at the city’s Web site.

“People tend to be leery of roundabouts, but these show how they work,” Aube said. “You merge in and go right out.”

Roundabouts are much smaller than rotaries and require traffic entering the circle to yield to the cars that are already there. The small size is designed to slow cars to about 15-20 miles-per-hour, letting them proceed through without coming to a complete stop. There’s only one lane through the circle, and special islands and lanes should keep traffic separate and cut down on driver confusion.

The first new circle should debut this summer, possibly in late July. Both should be in operation by September.

The two circles will slow traffic at shopping center entrances along Turner Street on either side of Mount Auburn Avenue. The first to open is being built in front of the Wal-Mart/Best Buy entrances. The second is being built near the Auburn Mall and Lamey-Wellehan.

Planning Director David Galbraith created a three dimensional model of the intersection, both before and after the roundabout. That model, and matchbox-sized cars, were on display at Auburn’s booth at the Androscoggin Business to Business Trade show last week. It has since moved back to Auburn Mall, and Aube said it’ll be on hand at the City Council’s June 25 meeting.

“People are very visual and this helps people actually see what it’s about,” Aube said. “I think people are going to be pretty comfortable with it.”