Traffic light madness!
Discussion
Where I live, or rather used to live, there is a roundabout just off one corner of the University campus. Its a small roundabout at the cross-section of two main-ish roads. Its festooned with traffic lights. Crossings on every exit/entry and traffic lights on the roundabout itself. Needless to say it just doesn't work. When traffic is heavy it all gets snarled up when it essentially traps long trains of cars on the roundabout. When its your turn to go (finally) you often don't have anywhere to go!
This is especially the case when a HGV gets held and to exasperate the issue, during term time students basically cut off one of the major exits every 2 minutes.
When traffic is light (and there is no in-between, its busy on mornings and tea time and then pretty dead during the day) you are just held unnecessarily while nothing is coming. When they did a traffic survey and switched off the lights during summer (no students about), the roundabout on its own worked like a dream. It worked so well I thought they were going to get rid of the lights.
Alas, what they did instead was festoon the next round about along at the other corner of the university campus with the same set up. This roundabout is even smaller, and never in my 10 years there has it ever posed a traffic problem. Now on one entry its been widened to 3 lanes, 2 of which are to go forward across the roundabout where the road immediately converges back to 1 lane. There are pedestrian crossings across all the exits again... neglecting the fact that on at least 3 sides there are existing crossings, in one case, not 30 yards away, which they've left in. And still operational. Its a mess and there are many people complaining now because it really hasn't helped anyone.
Why do they do this? This set up doesn't really work on the other roundabout so why apply it to a smaller one with no real traffic problem? The roundabout did a pretty good job of self managing. If there ever was a problem it was when something on the M1 happened and people were using the roads as a bypass. Or when traffic is heavy and queues caused by the first roundabout begin to extend to the new one....which now has loads of traffic lights. Don't think that helps!
They've plopped extra lights in a couple of other places too. Two sets of cross roads now inexplicably have 2 sets of lights on one side, literally separated by a few feet. You are held at one, then allowed to roll a few feet only to be stopped again to wait. There is simply no reason for it.
All I can think of is that they have money to spend, so spent it. Or someone gets kick backs. On the former, that really needs to stop. They say if its not spent they won't get it next year, Im sorry but that really is just leading to wasting our money. I mean there was no point in you having the money this year if you are just going to piss it away on nonsense.
I am not saying traffic light roundabouts are universally bad. Some do work, especially on some of the larger roundabouts or where traffic flow in one direction is so heavy so as to basically stop anyone else from getting on to the roundabout from another side. But when it clearly makes life worse, why persist?
This is especially the case when a HGV gets held and to exasperate the issue, during term time students basically cut off one of the major exits every 2 minutes.
When traffic is light (and there is no in-between, its busy on mornings and tea time and then pretty dead during the day) you are just held unnecessarily while nothing is coming. When they did a traffic survey and switched off the lights during summer (no students about), the roundabout on its own worked like a dream. It worked so well I thought they were going to get rid of the lights.
Alas, what they did instead was festoon the next round about along at the other corner of the university campus with the same set up. This roundabout is even smaller, and never in my 10 years there has it ever posed a traffic problem. Now on one entry its been widened to 3 lanes, 2 of which are to go forward across the roundabout where the road immediately converges back to 1 lane. There are pedestrian crossings across all the exits again... neglecting the fact that on at least 3 sides there are existing crossings, in one case, not 30 yards away, which they've left in. And still operational. Its a mess and there are many people complaining now because it really hasn't helped anyone.
Why do they do this? This set up doesn't really work on the other roundabout so why apply it to a smaller one with no real traffic problem? The roundabout did a pretty good job of self managing. If there ever was a problem it was when something on the M1 happened and people were using the roads as a bypass. Or when traffic is heavy and queues caused by the first roundabout begin to extend to the new one....which now has loads of traffic lights. Don't think that helps!
They've plopped extra lights in a couple of other places too. Two sets of cross roads now inexplicably have 2 sets of lights on one side, literally separated by a few feet. You are held at one, then allowed to roll a few feet only to be stopped again to wait. There is simply no reason for it.
All I can think of is that they have money to spend, so spent it. Or someone gets kick backs. On the former, that really needs to stop. They say if its not spent they won't get it next year, Im sorry but that really is just leading to wasting our money. I mean there was no point in you having the money this year if you are just going to piss it away on nonsense.
I am not saying traffic light roundabouts are universally bad. Some do work, especially on some of the larger roundabouts or where traffic flow in one direction is so heavy so as to basically stop anyone else from getting on to the roundabout from another side. But when it clearly makes life worse, why persist?
My experience of living with someone in the local councils traffic planning dept does not bode well.
Zero concept of measuring if changes have improved a road system
Bizarre implementation of 2+ lanes that cause congestion and force traffic to cross itself to get into the right lane at the end of the 2+ lane
Zero coordination of adjacent junctions
Disregard for particular sets of lights that single handedly cause gridlock across an area
Residents parking surveys at 2pm on a weekday when most are out at work
The evidence I see everyday where I live indicates the people doing this should all be in a loony bin
Surely lights cost more and are less 'green' than roundabouts as well?
Grumble grumble
Zero concept of measuring if changes have improved a road system
Bizarre implementation of 2+ lanes that cause congestion and force traffic to cross itself to get into the right lane at the end of the 2+ lane
Zero coordination of adjacent junctions
Disregard for particular sets of lights that single handedly cause gridlock across an area
Residents parking surveys at 2pm on a weekday when most are out at work
The evidence I see everyday where I live indicates the people doing this should all be in a loony bin
Surely lights cost more and are less 'green' than roundabouts as well?
Grumble grumble
Just some simple concept of phasing/synchronising lights would help - East Road in Cambridge is part of what is laughingly called the ring road so is major thoroughfare, but is also a major bottleneck thanks to "green man" pedestrian crossings about 200 metres apart that are not synchronised with each other or the lights at the major junction a little further along. The inevitable result is massive congestion.
There are several of these "roundabouts" in my area. Whilst they eliminate the problem of drivers pulling out in front of other motorists, they are poorly implemented:
1) A massive central island, with lanes that are insufficiently wide in places - a monumental f-up.
2) Traffic lights that change from green to red in less than ten seconds. This encourages speeding and "amber gambling"
3) Multi lane sections with NO lane markings, typically at exit/entry points. You are formation flying with complete strangers .... and no reference points. What could possibly go wrong?
1) A massive central island, with lanes that are insufficiently wide in places - a monumental f-up.
2) Traffic lights that change from green to red in less than ten seconds. This encourages speeding and "amber gambling"
3) Multi lane sections with NO lane markings, typically at exit/entry points. You are formation flying with complete strangers .... and no reference points. What could possibly go wrong?
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