It is nice to not have to pay for replacement signals, or have to deal with power outages that kill the signals though.
Drivers anticipating their merge into roundabout are often too distracted to notice pedestrians intending to cross, and any pedestrian crossing the outflow of a roundabout can trigger a traffic backup that interferes with the flow of the circle itself and surprise drivers who expect it to stay moving.
They have their benefits in some intersections, but they also have tradeoffs that make them very poor for others.
I'm confused by your comment that drivers merging into a roundabout are too distracted.
As a driver merging into a roundabout I find I have far less cognitive load. I only have to look for pedestrians crossing in front of me and cars coming from the left. When coming off the roundabout I only have to check for pedestrians crossing the exit I want to take.
At an intersection, all these checks are mashed together into. I have to keep track of all the cars at the intersection plus the pedestrians that may be crossing in front of me and the exit I want to take.
Drivers coming into them, who want to actually benefit from the roundabout and not just turn it into an awkward stop sign, are responsible for reversing the exit to lane mapping, then timing their approach to the intersection with an opening that will let them reach to their lane while maintaining a flow. If they can't manage to do that, of course they're supposed to stop and yield until an appropriate opening becomes available.
Inevitably, the designated pedestrian crosswalk is some 5-10+ feet prior to where the car would have to stop if it does need to yield while awaiting an opening.
Compared to a signaled intersection or a 2/4-way stop, where the pedestrian crossing coincides with a natural traffic stop, this basically means that approximately zero cars actually stop for pedestrians. Some are too busy to notice and others just don't want to have to deal with a stop and so ignore their responsibility.
I assume you must live somewhere else, where roundabouts are smaller and play some different role than here.
I'd argue that 1 lane roundabouts are far from decorative in residential neighbourhoods and are safer and allow for a better flow of traffic.
I'm slightly confused by your description, but it sounds like traffic lights for the pedestrian crossings would be a better option (which is often the case with the bigger roundabouts in the UK). Are the roundabouts you referring to like this one https://maps.app.goo.gl/xfxzDWTx4a7WPasUA or smaller?
Excepting for single-lane roundabouts, I find they require a much higher cognitive load for me.
I find I sometimes miss pedestrians waiting to cross from the right, because I must look left to merge with oncoming traffic and it's hard to look hard left and to the right at the same time.
At a signalized intersection, if all parties follow the signals, there's often no situation where I'm supposed to be looking in both directions for conflicts.
If I travel straight through the intersection on a green light, there should be no conflict with pedestrians (although one must always be alert). There may be a stopped or slow vehicle in front if the exit is congested. If an unprotected left turn is allowed, I must be aware of that potential conflict while I traverse the first half of the intersection, and if right on red is allowed, I must be aware of that potential conflict as I traverse the second half of the intersection. It's of course useful to be aware of potential for other parties to violate their signals, but look mostly straight but to the left for the first half and mostly straight but to right for the second half works for turns and red light violators ... and mostly straight is pretty good for pedestrians crossing against the light.
For turns, pedestrians are in the same direction you're heading, and often the same direction you're looking. Right on red is an exception, but one typically stops behind the line and looks around for pedestrians before crossing the line and looking for an opportunity to merge in.
For safety, pedestrian crossings should be moved away from roundabouts, where drivers will see them better, but then that increases the path length for pedestrians and acceptance is low.
What I've seen first hand in Ontario/Canada is that there's a huge increase in cognitive load simply because the roundabouts are still fairly new. Most drivers were never taught about them. They've just appeared. And they aren't completely intuitive for many drivers -- so their entry/exit isn't always ideal/safe.
For one, both entering and leaving the roundabout happens at low speeds, so there's very little chance of getting hit at high speed.
Second, the drivers are necessarily doing turns, so their blind spots move around quickly, which makes it easier to scan the area for pedestrians.
This is so true that it happens constantly at a roundabout in my neighborhood that has stop signs and white stripes at the pedestrian crossing, right before the merge. Even people in the right turn only lane do it.
have you seen the mini roundabout yet?
people kind of follow the rules but sometime cut over the middle - especially on the very small ones