Fury as council’s new £10million road layout leaves street ‘looking like a magic eye picture’
Pedestrians, cyclists and motorists across Britain have rioted over baffling road designs that have taken both motorists and walkers by surprise – and, in the worst cases, injuries.
A number of short-sighted transport policies, many of which were ‘secretly’ introduced during the Covid pandemic, have been rolled out across the country, prompting several calls for the schemes to be scrapped.
From ‘floating’ bus stops and ‘optical illusion’ bike lanes to ‘safety roundabouts’ and bike lanes going the wrong way on one-way streets, MailOnline looks back at some of those disastrous installations that cost taxpayers millions.
London’s floating bus stops
In the capital, a series of ‘dangerous’ floating bus stops, or as Transport for London calls them, ‘shared use bus boarders’, have been slammed shut by angry pedestrians.
Bizarre transport policies have wedged a cycle path between a bus shelter and the road, forcing passengers to navigate incoming cycle traffic to board their buses.
Concerns over pedestrian safety have led blindness campaigners to call for their removal.
In 2020, a bus stop, similar to the one in Waltham Forest, was labeled ‘crazy’ by commuters who were forced to dodge speeding cyclists as they got on and off buses near Kings Cross
The ‘optical illusion’ cycle path responsible for 59 injuries
Nearly 60 people have been injured on a poorly designed cycle path in Keynsham, Somerset over the past year.
The ‘optical illusion’ cycle path, which opened in March 2022 after nine months of work, has left people bloodied, bruised and with broken bones due to its confusing appearance.
Pedestrians and cyclists alike have said accidents happen because the appearance of the gray curbs on one side and the white painted lines on the other creates an “optical illusion” that makes the path look flat – helping to spot cyclists who aren’t riding properly. enough watching.
Cyclists say the ‘optical illusion’ strip causes people to injure themselves because the curb on one side and painted white lines are a similar color
Baffling Dutch-style ‘safety roundabout’ sees increase in accidents
Britain’s first Dutch-style roundabout, giving cyclists and pedestrians priority over cars, was introduced in Cambridge in 2020.
The complicated intersection has an inner ring and outer ring configuration, so motorists give priority to people arriving on foot or by bicycle.
The car lanes are narrower than the average roundabout and are placed in the center lanes, slowing vehicles as they approach.
Pedestrians on the zebra crossing have priority over vehicles, which lead to a path that pedestrians can take around the outer ring.
Cyclists have their own outer ring cycle path, made of red asphalt, which gives them priority.
Motorists must give way to pedestrians and cyclists when approaching the roundabout. Cars must also give way when leaving the roundabout. Cyclists have priority over cars, but must slow down and see if they stop
The roundabout ‘crop circle’
A bizarre ’roundabout’ on the Somerset coast was so often mocked by motorists for being odd design that it was removed and repainted – just weeks after it was first installed.
The flat, concave painted roundabout, dubbed the ‘crop circle’ by locals, was installed last month at the junction of The Beach, Marine Parade and Alexandra Gardens as part of controversial seafront changes in Clevedon.
Weeks later it was removed before being repainted days later as a more traditional mini roundabout with arrows around the perimeter.
Campaigners calling for the new road layout to be rolled back claim the council is ‘making it up as we go’
‘Cycle over’
Millions have been invested in Britain’s cycle network in recent years, with the road network becoming more complex.
But even regular riders were mystified by what is believed to be the UK’s first cycle roundabout.
The four-way junction, installed on a busy road in Salford as part of a £22 million upgrade, is designed as a junction between two cycle paths.
There is no sidewalk on two sides, so if you go on foot, you have to cross the bike path twice.
One pedestrian said: ‘I don’t see cyclists going all the way around it. They just take a shortcut’
Oval-shaped intersection that confused road users
Motorists have blown up a ‘bizarre’ and ‘dangerous’ oval-shaped roundabout that was installed in June 2021 in Douglas, the capital of the Isle of Man.
Drone photos from the newly opened feature show three rings in the center of an intersection with the same number of roads connecting from different angles.
The crossing, which is part of a £25 million project, caused locals to reject the idea, with many claiming it was ‘nonsensical’ and ‘impossible to develop’.
However, the local authority said the junction should be used like ‘any other roundabout’ and assured ‘motorists will soon get used to it’.
Locals in the capital of the Isle of Man, Douglas, have criticized the idea, claiming it is ‘nonsensical’ and ‘impossible to work out’