UK to get first Dutch-style roundabout in Cambridge

[Jim606]

A new Dutch-style roundabout is due to appear in Cambridge Lets hope this is the real deal and constitutes an 'actual' Dutch-style roundabout, rather than the various attempts we have seen so far in the UK. There was the mess of Bedford, otherwise known as Turbogate and two others in south London; Queens Circus in Battersea and Crystal Palace Anyway, this scheme in Cambridge does look very interesting;

Plan of new Dutch-style roundabout in Cambridge

Example of a Dutch-style roundabout in the Netherlands

[boliston]

looks better than most traditional uk roundabouts that are often 'hostile' to non motorised users

[Bryn666]

The designers are the company I work for... we're a Dutch firm...

I did have some input into the design and I am keen to see it finished.

[A9NWIL]

I can see drivers queuing their vehicles over the cycle lane to maintain reasonable visibility of the main roundabout!
The concept would be better within a signalised junction.

[hoagy_ytfc]

The driving-on-the-right bit is going to take some getting used to.

[Bfivethousand]

The designers are the company I work for... we're a Dutch firm...

I did have some input into the design and I am keen to see it finished.

Bryn, out of curiosity, what's on the supplementary plate beneath the no left turn sign? I'm assuming the restriction itself is connected to the tightness of the turn.

[Glen]

Bryn, out of curiosity, what's on the supplementary plate beneath the no left turn sign? I'm assuming the restriction itself is connected to the tightness of the turn.

I would assume it's "except vehicles under 6 m in length"

[Bryn666]

Pretty much. It's one for the DfT to approve.

As for blocking the cycle tracks to maintain visibility... why would you need to do that? The envelopes all work from the zebras and this is a low speed junction due to the design.

Signals would increase speeds here and be infinitely worse for cyclists thus defeating the entire purpose of the scheme.

[A9NWIL]

As for blocking the cycle tracks to maintain visibility... why would you need to do that? The envelopes all work from the zebras and this is a low speed junction due to the design.

Signals would increase speeds here and be infinitely worse for cyclists thus defeating the entire purpose of the scheme.

You know British drivers still will block the cycle bits though, as British drivers wont have been trained to use such a junction.
To prevent it an enforced yellow box would have to be drawn in the crossover space, with warning signs that its enforced with cameras or such like.

[Bryn666]

Being yelled at by pedestrians and cyclists who are obstructed will get the message across to the hard of thinking.

We don't design roads for idiots. The idiots shouldn't be allowed on them in the first place.

[c2R]

My understanding was that a yellow box must be at the junction to two roads, and that yellow boxes would be unenforceable at the cycle path crossing. Not to mention unsightly, particularly given your enforcement and signage proposals.

Bryn, does the roundabout actually have a name - as this is quite an interesting road event in the UK I'd like to add it to a wiki page about the junction..

[A9NWIL]

Being yelled at by pedestrians and cyclists who are obstructed will get the message across to the hard of thinking.

We don't design roads for idiots. The idiots shouldn't be allowed on them in the first place.

Maybe, but I think grade separating the pedestrians and cyclists would be a better solution.

[c2R]

Being yelled at by pedestrians and cyclists who are obstructed will get the message across to the hard of thinking.

We don't design roads for idiots. The idiots shouldn't be allowed on them in the first place.

Maybe, but I think grade separating the pedestrians and cyclists would be a better solution.

Be realistic, this isn't a new town or a major arterial route. It's a essentially a suburban residential area. The only real issue I've got with it is that money would be better spent actually providing a proper relief road for the south and east of Cambridge to take motor traffic away.

[85CF380]

When you said Dutch style roundabout I thought you meant like this https://goo.gl/maps/wgLVfWch1Bo
(N57 Hellevoetsluis)

[Johnathan404]

Being yelled at by pedestrians and cyclists who are obstructed will get the message across to the hard of thinking.

We don't design roads for idiots. The idiots shouldn't be allowed on them in the first place.

Maybe, but I think grade separating the pedestrians and cyclists would be a better solution.

What problem are we trying to solve? That motorists lack an awareness that other people exist and have a right to get across the road.

What does asking people in wheelchairs to wheel themselves above the height of traffic just to get across the road demonstrate? A complete lack of awareness that other people exist and have a right to get across the road.

[Burns]

The driving-on-the-right bit is going to take some getting used to.

Well, as long as everyone else does it, you'll be fine.

[Fluid Dynamics]

When you said Dutch style roundabout I thought you meant like this https://goo.gl/maps/wgLVfWch1Bo
(N57 Hellevoetsluis)

Yes, that’s what I thought/hoped. The Dutch have lots of these, particularly in Zealand and I think they work pretty well.

[Bryn666]

Turbo roundabouts are for rural roads with no NMU conflicts. By all accounts the one thoughtlessly shoehorned into Bedford has been a disaster.

Pedestrians and cyclists count as traffic too for the purposes of traffic engineering. Something that seems to be forgotten regularly.

[Bryn666]

Bryn, does the roundabout actually have a name - as this is quite an interesting road event in the UK I'd like to add it to a wiki page about the junction..

No official name for it, however it is on Queen Edith Way.

We just call them Dutch style roundabouts.

[Fluid Dynamics]

Turbo roundabouts are for rural roads with no NMU conflicts. By all accounts the one thoughtlessly shoehorned into Bedford has been a disaster.

Pedestrians and cyclists count as traffic too for the purposes of traffic engineering. Something that seems to be forgotten regularly.

Totally agree, having both driven and cycled pretty extensively in the Netherlands have excellent provision for cyclists and the turbo roundabouts tend to be on N routed. Being a pedestrian is a different matter.