Traffic lights at Roundabouts
in [UK Drivers]
|
Prev: My un-favourite junction
Next: The horrors of biofuels.
From: JNugent on 27 Apr 2010 04:29 John wrote: > Back to the original point - does anyone else see a risk in having Ped Xing > traffic lights close to a roundabout as if they are green you could think it > is a green light for entering the roundabout. That is an obvious risk, which varies with the proximity of the crossing to the roundabout.
From: Mortimer on 27 Apr 2010 04:32 "John" <Who90nospam(a)ntlworld.com> wrote in message news:DVwBn.3$DV5.2(a)newsfe07.ams2... > Back to the original point - does anyone else see a risk in having Ped > Xing traffic lights close to a roundabout as if they are green you could > think it is a green light for entering the roundabout. Yes. I agree that there needs to be a different shape of lights for pedestrian lights so you don't think they control a junction - whether it's a roundabout or a minor road at a cross roads. I'd also like to see left/right filter lights which are alongside straight-ahead lights have an arrow for *all three* lights - so you can distinguish the stop light for right-turning traffic and know that it doesn't apply to straight-ahead traffic. When you get two traffic light heads on one pole, it's instinctive to prepare to stop for a red light, only to realise that it doesn't apply to you. There's a junction near me which has lights like this. It's a long straight road with a slight bend close to the junction. From about 1/4 mile away, all you can see is the red light for the right turn into a road that has very little traffic. It takes a lot of will power to keep going at normal speed knowing that the green straight-ahead light will become visible past the bushes as you get closer to the junction. At least a clear right arrow on the red filter light would confirm "yes, this is not the light that applies to you" for the majority of traffic.
From: Adrian on 27 Apr 2010 04:45 "John" <Who90nospam(a)ntlworld.com> gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying: > Back to the original point - does anyone else see a risk in having Ped > Xing traffic lights close to a roundabout as if they are green you could > think it is a green light for entering the roundabout. Umm, did the traffic continuing to go round the roundabout not give you a clue?
From: John on 27 Apr 2010 05:05 "Adrian" <toomany2cvs(a)gmail.com> wrote in message news:83nmguFthtU3(a)mid.individual.net... > "John" <Who90nospam(a)ntlworld.com> gurgled happily, sounding much like they > were saying: > >> Back to the original point - does anyone else see a risk in having Ped >> Xing traffic lights close to a roundabout as if they are green you could >> think it is a green light for entering the roundabout. > > Umm, did the traffic continuing to go round the roundabout not give you a > clue? It wasn't very busy - but I did need to stop as something was coming.
From: Nkosi (ama-ecosse) on 27 Apr 2010 07:49
On 26 Apr, 22:55, JNugent <J...(a)noparticularplacetogo.com> wrote: > Brimstone wrote: > > > "JNugent" <J...(a)noparticularplacetogo.com> wrote in message > >news:cPWdnVLJh9_dmUvWnZ2dnUVZ8j2dnZ2d(a)pipex.net... > >> Ret. wrote: > >>> Ian Jackson wrote: > >>>> In message <Ys2dnWruDNukIUjWnZ2dnUVZ8j-dn...(a)brightview.co.uk>, > >>>> Mortimer <m...(a)privacy.net> writes > >>>>> "ChelseaTractorMan" <mr.c.trac...(a)hotmail.co.uk> wrote in message > >>>>>news:spcbt5lnro8c6cbjfkd9nikvvii7eucq8h(a)4ax.com... > >>>>>> On Mon, 26 Apr 2010 16:07:35 +0100, JNugent > >>>>>> <J...(a)noparticularplacetogo.com> wrote: > > >>>>>>> There just shouldn't be traffic lights at roundabouts. > > >>>>>> an admission of failure really! There's a tiny roundabout near > >>>>>> Lakeside shopping centre, (Essex) with lights on all the (I think) 5 > >>>>>> entries, they seem permanently switched off, I suspect because the > >>>>>> traffic flows better without them. > > >>>>> There was a lot of disruption last year while the Hopgrove roundabout > >>>>> near York (A64 goes from dual-carriageway to single-carriageway and > >>>>> meets the northern ring road) was modified. One of the changes was to > >>>>> put traffic lights on the roundabout. > > >>>>> Throughput on the roundabout is worse than ever, with long queues on > >>>>> the single and dual sections of the A64 and on the ring road, at peak > >>>>> times. > > >>>>> For some reason, the traffic lights are 24-hour, rather than peak > >>>>> periods only. It is infuriating to have to wait at the roundabout for > >>>>> ages until the lights change, when you are the only car around late > >>>>> at night! > > >>>>> The Milton Interchange roundabout under the A34 near Didcot was > >>>>> redesigned and traffic lights were put on it. They have dramatically > >>>>> improved the throughput of the roundabout - especially at peak > >>>>> periods when traffic used to queue for ages to get out of the Milton > >>>>> Park business park onto the roundabout. However the phasing of the > >>>>> lights is very poor: traffic coming from Milton Park faces two sets > >>>>> of lights, very close together (one to enter the roundabout, one to > >>>>> let traffic join from Didcot) and they are phased so when one set of > >>>>> lights goes green, the next set turns red about five seconds later. > >>>>> Often you get the lead car at the first lights doing a wheelspin > >>>>> start to try to get through the second lights before it changes. > > >>>> On these large intersections, I hate the way that the phasing of the > >>>> lights forces you to 'ratchet' your way around the roundabout, from > >>>> traffic light to traffic light. Once you actually get onto the > >>>> roundabout, I would have thought that it would be more efficient if > >>>> you were allowed proceed through two (or even more) sets of lights. > > >>> It would make more sense to get rid of the roundabout and just have a > >>> traffic light controlled crossroads! They seem to manage perfectly > >>> well without roundabouts in the US. > > >> For certain values of "perfectly well"; with a set of traffic lights > >> at almost every *single* intersection on the grid-iron of Manhattan, > >> progress is painfully slow, whether by vehicle or on foot. > > >> The whole idea of a roundabout is to keep traffic moving without > >> unnecessary delays. Using lights on the carriageway of a roundabout is > >> absolutely crazy since it prevents the natural function of the > >> gyratory system by herding the traffic together which reduces the > >> space necessary for the essential lane-changing. > > >> *If* there is a pre-empting flow of traffic from one or more > >> directions into the roundabout, that could be balanced by a > >> free-standing set of lights controlling the flow into the roundabout > >> from those directions only, rather like the "ramp-metering" now used > >> on some motorway slip-roads. > > > Surely the most sensible solution for that type of junction is a > > flyover/under for the route carrying the majority of the traffic, i.e. > > motorway style. > > That would mean spending the odd million of the billions collected from > road-users.- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - Heaven forbid they would actually do road improvements. Nkosi |