Floral roundabout redesign divides opinion - dangerous?

[g3org3y]

BBC said:

Horrendous and dangerous - or fresh and vibrant?

The California Cross junction in Finchampstead, Berkshire, has been described as both.

The product of a broader £5.5m seven-month revamp, the double roundabout and five crossings with distinctive leaf designs has divided opinion amongst locals, with 1,400 signing a petition calling for it to be gone.
...
The junction consists of two roundabouts, each with three exits. Each exit has a crossing for pedestrians.

But instead of a zebra crossing with black and white stripes, there is a distinctive white leaf design - and instead of a roundabout with a stand

Linky

Any locals here able to comment?

[numtumfutunch]

Not local however as the average motorist can barely safely navigate a conventional roundabout what were they expecting?

[grumbledoak]

numtumfutunch said:

Not local however as the average motorist can barely safely navigate a conventional roundabout what were they expecting?

Usually "they" are expecting everyone to be confused and this slow down.

I am curious about what legal requirement there would be to stop at a set of painted flowers.

[OutInTheShed]

What does the signage say?

It does not look to me as if the road markings conform to the Highway Code standards.

Without the road markings and signage to properly indicate who gives way, is it just some sort of free for all?
Or does it just default to minor road gives way to major road?

How do we know it's not actually one oval roundabout?

The standard road markings are there for a reason.


Still it's always nice to be reminded that the country is rich and can afford to have councils making up this kind of stuff.

[leef44]

I would be quite pee'd off if my council tax money was wasted this way.

[biggles330d]

There's a fair bit of evidence that by removing all road markings people generally slow down too as it's less clear who has priority so everyone is more cautious. I that were the intent, I'd have saved the cost of paint. That mess is just confusing.

[devnull]

Councils didn’t take heed of the bks redesign of clevedon seafront with its wiggly lines, so I’m not suprised another council has done this.

All this needed in the centre is a white circle and I’m people wouldn’t have kicked off.

Isn’t there a law that states you cannot deviate from country standard markings?

[Challo]

My friend lives local and has to use it most days to drop his kid off at school. Yes it's not gone down well with locals

[Silvanus]

It's near my mother in laws, it's a stupid waste of money.

[glazbagun]

OutInTheShed said:

What does the signage say?

It does not look to me as if the road markings conform to the Highway Code standards.

Without the road markings and signage to properly indicate who gives way, is it just some sort of free for all?
Or does it just default to minor road gives way to major road?

How do we know it's not actually one oval roundabout?

The standard road markings are there for a reason.

Still it's always nice to be reminded that the country is rich and can afford to have councils making up this kind of stuff.

That's my thought. Are those supposed to be roundabouts? They don't look like them. Even if they painted Highway Code markings on top you'd at least know what was going on. How can you prove right of way in a crash if there are no road markings?

[Silvanus]

This is how it used to look. It's still supposed to be two mini roundabouts and the flower patterns are supposed to be zebra crossings.

[paulw123]

It's what happens when you let people spend other peoples money

[Countdown]

It's what happens when some inexperienced over-promoted young Manager accidentally gets asked to do something important and gets carried away on their own inflated sense of self importance.

It's the fault of the idiot Highways staff and Directors for not scrutinising the project properly.

[Rusty Old-Banger]

Point of order "Highway Code markings" don't exist.

You can put in markings and signs that aren't specified in the DMRB or TSRGD but you have to apply to the Dft for "Non-prescribed sign" status, and they are quite comprehensively assessed and analysed.

This isn't a unique layout. There are examples I know in Cambridge, Chelmsford, and soon Colchester, that are similar - as in quite different to the established markings. The general thinking is that they are sufficiently different that they actually draw more attention to the road layout and surroundings than a "plain" layout. Haven't seen them replacing zebra crossings before, though - they usually indicate areas outside schools, for example.

Opinions on them vary. Personally I have no issue with them as long as there are upright signs that tell of the actual layout - such as ped crossing, or warning of kids etc.

(I'm a CEng highway designer)

[leef44]

biggles330d said:

There's a fair bit of evidence that by removing all road markings people generally slow down too as it's less clear who has priority so everyone is more cautious. I that were the intent, I'd have saved the cost of paint. That mess is just confusing.

Exactly. The argument that it slows drivers down due to confusion is such a silly one.

Soon the councils will be saying, we have objectively made decisions based on data analysis so we are now going to paint the whole town multi colour with different patterns everywhere. This makes people happy and slows the traffic because it confuses them.

[Hoofy]

I feel sorry for anyone living near there - wonder if the number of times a car horn has been used has rocketed thanks to the new design. As someone mentioned above, many people can barely manage with standard markings.

[bigmowley]

We have a similar two here on the Isle of Man. Called the Roundals. Causes vast amounts of confusion.



There are no conventional road markings. Most people dither about in the middle of the road. The more adventurous of us just sail through on main beam, it can be very entertaining. Brilliant in TT fortnight the foreign bikers are completely bamboozled.

[fly by wire]

bigmowley said:

We have a similar two here on the Isle of Man. Called the Roundals. Causes vast amounts of confusion.



There are no conventional road markings. Most people dither about in the middle of the road. The more adventurous of us just sail through on main beam, it can be very entertaining. Brilliant in TT fortnight the foreign bikers are completely bamboozled.

Douglas ?

[Master Bean]

fly by wire said:

bigmowley said:

We have a similar two here on the Isle of Man. Called the Roundals. Causes vast amounts of confusion.



There are no conventional road markings. Most people dither about in the middle of the road. The more adventurous of us just sail through on main beam, it can be very entertaining. Brilliant in TT fortnight the foreign bikers are completely bamboozled.

Douglas ?

It says Colin on his profile.

[Terminator X]

This is near me. I had to navigate it for the first time a few weeks ago. It certainly slows down traffic as no one has a clue who goes first or where to go.

TX.