The £2.3m UK roundabout forced to close a week | Tech News
A significant new roundabout that price over £2million to construct was forced to close simply days after it opened. A revolutionary Dutch-style roundabout in Cambridge had to quickly close days after it was put in back in 2020.
The new roundabout was the primary of its variety on UK soil when it opened on Fendon Road, Cambridge. The Dutch-style route is designed particularly to give precedence to cyclists and pedestrians as a substitute of automobiles, with a vary of junctions and zebra crossings. However, the new roundabout was hit with a short-term highway closure simply days after the launch after a hit-and-run driver crashed into a zebra crossing beacon.
Soon after its launch, the new roundabout was mired in controversy after residents instructed the new system was presumably harmful. Between 2020 and 2023, information confirmed that the Dutch-style roundabout had been the scene of 10 collisions.
In comparability, there had been simply six minor incidents on the previous roundabout format between 2017 and 2019, earlier than the modifications got here into impact. The roundabout has additionally undergone a number of highway security audits since its set up.
Neville Silverston, a retired GP, claimed he had seen motorists forced to emergency stops and entering into rear-end collisions.
He advised the BBC: “I don’t think the design has any safety features for the people it was intended to be safe for. It’s a very busy roundabout and motorists use it at quite high speed.
“It’s an excessive amount of for even an skilled driver to soak up, with cyclists and pedestrians coming from left and proper, and automobiles from the appropriate.”
Ken Riley, one other older resident residing close by, burdened e-scooters had turn out to be an subject with riders darting throughout junctions.
He added: “They approach this roundabout at full speed and they go straight on to the cycle track; motorists don’t have time to look around before they whizz across in front of them or behind them.”
Since Cambridge, Dutch-style roundabouts have since popped up in cities and cities throughout the UK, with at the least 4 now in operation. The second roundabout was fitted in Sheffield in 2024, earlier than a third was put in in Chichester and a fourth in Hemel Hempstead.
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