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Move Over, Fantasy Island


 

You know their names: Gilligan’s Island, Fantasy Island, Temptation Island, Love Island. Well, they can all just move over. There’s a new island in town.

Cul de sac island.



Oakland Mills Village: Do you have a cul-de-sac island on your street? Or do you want to hold a block party with your neighbors? OMCA wants to help! Visit Oaklandmills.org* and scroll down the homepage for more info and to find out how to request funds.

I did a double take upon reading this post from the the good folks at OMCA because for a brief moment I thought the term was redundant. In other words, that the island was what made it a cul de sac.

Au contraire. Merriam Webster defines cul de sac as “a street or passage closed at one end. Example: Our house is located on a quiet cul-de-sac.

I guess that islands are an extra. I went looking for the origin of cul de sac islands and found this friendly conversation on Cyburbia, where they are referred to as “landscape circles.” (It has nowhere near the romantic quality of “cul de sac islands” IMHO.) 

I still didn’t track down an origin story, however.

I do know that cul de sacs themselves are intended to slow down thru-traffic. They were also sold as providing safe places for children to play.

Not sure how that applies to landscape circles. Do children incorporate them into their play?

Last one to Cul de Sac island is a rotten egg!

Some time in the way back when, Columbia/HoCo had a blog called Live from the Cul de Sac. I have been trying to find traces of it for years. My efforts have apparently not been in vain because I discovered this morning that Google’s AI has hallucinated me into the narrative.

This is creepy stuff.



Anyway, back to the island. This has got to be the most idyllic, escape-from-reality example of the landscape circle genre that I have ever seen. 



My compliments to the cul de sac neighbors who have created and maintained this outstanding oasis. The photographer is to be commended, as well. This is a great shot.

Has Columbia ever attempted a Neighborhood Cul de Cac Tour where HoCo locals could see the best in Island design and execution? Could it be the next local reality show? I’m imagining us all glued to our tvs for the drama.

Last week on Cul de Sac Island…


Village Green/Town² Comments


*Oakland Mills is on a roll right now with engaging, informative social media posts. If your village or neighborhood association is also doing a great job at this, point me in their direction.


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  1. Julia A. McCreadyMay 21, 2026 at 6:36 AM

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