Roundabouts replaced with traffic light based junctions?

Roundabouts replaced with traffic light based junctions?

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PESKYWAABBIT

Original Poster:

27 posts

92 months

Saturday 21st April 2018
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I need some help here people.

I just don't understand how the people who design our UK roads are ever increasingly replacing our roundabouts with traffic lights or a similar signaled design. Often I find myself sat at a red light waiting for somebody, i.e NO ONE to move, when the previous year where there used to be a roundabout, I could of passed through almost instantly.

How they could think it is more efficient. I mean, when the traffic lights fail and people have to go through gingerly and have a huge risk of accident, it then requires repair and a call out. But a roundabout never breaks down and often doesn't rely on electricity to function.

It's similar to how, when an escalator stops working, it still can be used and walked over safely. But when a lift stops working you're not in great shape (kind of).

I get the use of traffic lights on the larger roundabouts coming off of motorways due to the amount of fast traffic that would be entering, but not this. Could someone please enlighten me or share their opinions?

Howitzer

2,828 posts

215 months

Saturday 21st April 2018
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They built one at Eye roundabout in Peterborough a few years ago and I was very sceptical.

Due to Perkins Engines traffic, the new traffic from some local developments, Hampton, along with a small shopping complex you would sometimes queue for 10 minutes at this roundabout. When Perkins were leaving and you were heading for say Market Deeping you just wouldn’t move as you had cars in a seemingly endless stream with no gap to get into.

Since the traffic lights were fitted there is better flow, less dangerous attempts to squeeze into a gap and Indont notice being sat in traffic for long there now at all.

If they could educate people how to stay in a lane then it would be perfect but the traffic lights themselves have made a big improvement to traffic flow there. I was sceptical but pleasantly surprised.

Dave!

irc

7,169 posts

135 months

Saturday 21st April 2018
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In many cases the answer is roundabouts with part time traffic ,lights. At busy periods when traffic volume on a main route stops traffic on more minor roads entering the RAB the lights switch on. The other 20 hrs a day it is a normal RAB with free flowing traffic.

My pet hate is a local traffic light crossroads where the through road has at least 95% of the traffic. It is currently faulty in that the lights default to green for the 5% roads. So every time I get there it is at red and I sit there for a minute until it goes green for 10 seconds before going red again for the side roads with nobody there.

Reported to the council as a fault. Nothing done so far. If I get there at 6.20am going to work and there is nobody already queuing I just edge slowly forward until I can see and go through on red.

This junction could have the lights switched off from 1900-0700 and work better. It only got lights when a new school was built on one of the side streets. Outside school hours and morning/evening peak it doesn't need them. But the council couldn't give a fk about the customers.

witko999

629 posts

207 months

Monday 23rd April 2018
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I'm starting to think that councils are purposefully creating congestion, perhaps as some kind of push for public transport or looking forward to starting a congestion charge in the future.

Some (most) of the junctions around Huddersfield are an absolute disaster, with traffic lights at every junction where give ways were perfectly safe, poorly sequenced lights which ensure that everybody must stop at every single set of lights (which are spaced about 100m apart), and lights on roundabouts causing huge queues. On the (sadly rare) occasion that these lights fail, traffic flows very well. At all other times, even mid-day, there are just queues everywhere.

Coupled with the fact that the roads are horrendously potholed with no sign of repairs occurring anywhere, makes the Hudds area a miserable place to drive.

Puggit

48,355 posts

247 months

Monday 23rd April 2018
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witko999 said:
I'm starting to think that councils are purposefully creating congestion, perhaps as some kind of push for public transport or looking forward to starting a congestion charge in the future.
.
Reading Borough Council have been quite open that they are trying to get government funding to implement a congestion charge. At the same time they've been ripping up roundabouts and replacing them with badly designed traffic light controlled junctions - and causing congestion.

witko999

629 posts

207 months

Monday 23rd April 2018
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It's infuriating. Making things work badly so that a charge can be implemented because things work badly.

silverfoxcc

7,683 posts

144 months

Monday 23rd April 2018
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Bracknell have a habit of this,
However the biscuit is really taken when they stick lights on a roundabout and you get stoppes twice doing a 'right hand turn' at 11 at night without another car in sight

Try and avoid the Sports Centre roundabout, And the Sainsburys, AND coral bloody reef

Rant over!

PurpleTurtle

6,940 posts

143 months

Monday 23rd April 2018
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Puggit said:
witko999 said:
I'm starting to think that councils are purposefully creating congestion, perhaps as some kind of push for public transport or looking forward to starting a congestion charge in the future.
.
Reading Borough Council have been quite open that they are trying to get government funding to implement a congestion charge. At the same time they've been ripping up roundabouts and replacing them with badly designed traffic light controlled junctions - and causing congestion.
I was just about to say the same about Reading. From my house in Caversham to crossing J11 of the M4, a distance of about 4 miles, there are 23 sets of lights, some mornings they alll go red for me!

I do sympathise to an extent, because Reading is so busy, so they have to do some kind of active traffic management, there are certain junctions which used to be roundabouts where the entering traffic from minor roads hardly got a sniff!

Riley Blue

20,915 posts

225 months

Tuesday 24th April 2018
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PurpleTurtle said:
I do sympathise to an extent, because Reading is so busy, so they have to do some kind of active traffic management, there are certain junctions which used to be roundabouts where the entering traffic from minor roads hardly got a sniff!
We have two very busy roundabouts in Chesterfield where traffic on A and B roads is controlled by lights but on the most minor roads (two on one roundabout) it isn't. Joining from them is something of a 'foot to the floor' gamble depending on which lane you're aiming for.

Puggit

48,355 posts

247 months

Wednesday 25th April 2018
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PurpleTurtle said:
I was just about to say the same about Reading. From my house in Caversham to crossing J11 of the M4, a distance of about 4 miles, there are 23 sets of lights, some mornings they alll go red for me!

I do sympathise to an extent, because Reading is so busy, so they have to do some kind of active traffic management, there are certain junctions which used to be roundabouts where the entering traffic from minor roads hardly got a sniff!
Yes, but take the A33/Rose Kiln Lane roundabout. It actually worked quite well, and the junction with lights that RBC implemented was a complete disaster. It took another x million pounds to rework the junction to it's current position, which mostly works (weekends excepted when trying to turn right from Halfords towards the centre).