The Magic Roundabout, Swindon, UK

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One problem with larger roundabouts like that one, is that it is a nightmare for pedestrians, if one was on the green patch at the bottom right and wanted to walk to the large green patch on top left, it's a major project fraught with danger, so much so that pedestrians just don't walk around such places.

 

As I indicated, I am in favour of roundabouts, especially when replacing traffic lights .
But a recent develoment close to me had me shaking my head.
We have a perimiter highway that circles the city, in order that anyone by-passing the city will have no need to travel through the city itself, and clover-leaf junctions have been replacing traffic lights in order there will be no stopping for through traffic and those crossing the said perimeter.
This seems to work fine.
Now someone in city planning seems to have decided that is too simple, when the traffic-light intersection near me was ready for conversion.
Someone came up with the idea that involved a bridge and two roundabouts! At a cost of 135Milion Can.
To me, It borders on something that Rube Goldberg/Heath Robinson would come up with!

Britain went crazy with road improvements after the war. This was because car ownership was being pushed and so roads were more congested. The upgrades often mean that the feel and atmosphere of small town centers was destroyed and walking around was reduced, basically car friendly often means pedestrian unfriendly.

This is something I watched recently, a historic little BBC documentary on this, its fascinating to see what things were once like - this is 1958.

 

Britain went crazy with road improvements after the war. This was because car ownership was being pushed and so roads were more congested. The upgrades often mean that the feel and atmosphere of small town centers was destroyed and walking around was reduced, basically car friendly often means pedestrian unfriendly.

This is something I watched recently, a historic little BBC documentary on this, its fascinating to see what things were once like - this is 1958.

Seems to be a lot fewer pot-holes than there are now.

 

This is something I watched recently, a historic little BBC documentary on this, its fascinating to see what things were once like - this is 1958.

I was driving in the UK in 1958 and I remeber the big push & construction of motor ways.