Getting through town - so inefficient.

[cheshirecat]

What a drag riding through Welly yesterday - all those traffic lights. The water front is a joke. Why don't they use roundabouts, faster, safer and dare I say it a lot more fuel efficient. Just think how much the council would save?

Quote here from BBC news
"It's a trend now in the United States. There are more and more roundabouts being built every day because of the expense saved and more importantly the safety." He quotes a study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety which suggests there is on average a 40% decrease in all accidents and a 90% drop in fatal ones when a traffic intersection is replaced by a roundabout.
The long-term financial saving is about £150,000, he says, due to reduced maintenance costs, and there are also fuel savings.
"Not just the cars that aren't idling at traffic lights, but starting from a dead stop takes up more fuel also, so we are saving thousands of gallons of fuel per roundabout per year," says the Republican mayor.
"And aesthetically, we think they're much nicer. If one is looking out their living room window, would you prefer to see a blinking traffic light all night or a beautifully landscaped roundabout with a fountain and flowers?"


link here

[steve_t]

Cos Hamiltron is testimony to how shit NZ'ers are at indicating correctly at roundabouts

[2Seat_Terror]

Since the 'indicate left turning off the roundabout' rule came in, everybody (including police) seems confused and indicators seen on roundabouts are now meaningless.

That said, they are preferable to lights when traffic isn't all coming from one direction.

[James Deuce]

Screw roundabouts. There are towns who have removed signage and traffic lights and found huge reductions in accidents and congestion as a result. Problem is Kiwis aren't polite or clever enough to make anarchy work for themselves. Accidents would drop but the murder rate would go through the roof.

[ukusa]

Try riding around Christchurch streets at the mo & you'll know what shit is!

Silt, potholes, craters, cracks, lumps, bumps, jumps, roadworks, shingle, closed roads, traffic jams, road cones ........

[Mental Trousers]

If there has to be some form of traffic control at intersections then I'm all for roundabouts.

The only time I got the shits with roundabouts was when they were doing road works at the end of the North Western to extend it (probably still working on it) and they put a roundabout in. Problem was, they also put traffic lights on the roundabout. What a farken circus that could be. I would get onto that roundabout and see a green light AND a red light. WTF??

[Milts]

I also agree on roundabouts vs traffic lights.

I think the main issue is those lights mostly exist for pedestrians to cross rather than so traffic can merge.

[spajohn]

Don't roundabouts cause truckies to spill diesel?

[slofox]

Cos Hamiltron is testimony to how shit NZ'ers are at indicating correctly at roundabouts

Absofuckinglutely...

Since the 'indicate left turning off the roundabout' rule came in, everybody (including police) seems confused and indicators seen on roundabouts are now meaningless.

Indimickators in general are meaningless in my opinion - I never trust 'em - ever.

Personally I find indicating at roundabouts perfectly understandable and easy as hell to do correctly. Maybe I'm some kind of freak...

[Latte]

Roundabouts are only good when the traffic isn't too "one sided". There's a few roundabouts on the shore where you can't go through them as there's a constant flow of traffic so the people to their left have to wait and wait.

[Usarka]

Screw roundabouts. There are towns who have removed signage and traffic lights and found huge reductions in accidents and congestion as a result. Problem is Kiwis aren't polite or clever enough to make anarchy work for themselves. Accidents would drop but the murder rate would go through the roof.

I sometimes think that we've been learned to not be polite or clever. In some countries you have to be polite or there is gridlock so it's almost forced.

And there's been a few examples in the last 10 years here in Arghland where during power cuts commuting times were actually lower because people were forced to take responsibility and be polite and at the same time not having to wait unecce...unecess....needlessly.

Out uselessness at thinking while on the road is partially a result of too many rules and the focus on enforcement IMHO.

[oneofsix]

I sometimes think that we've been learned to not be polite or clever. In some countries you have to be polite or there is gridlock so it's almost forced.

And there's been a few examples in the last 10 years here in Arghland where during power cuts commuting times were actually lower because people were forced to take responsibility and be polite and at the same time not having to wait unecce...unecess....needlessly.

Out uselessness at thinking while on the road is partially a result of too many rules and the focus on enforcement IMHO.

yeah what he gone and said. I've noticed that whilst there is movement and "right of way" peoples are not polite. When it reaches gridlock then the politeness comes out. And in some ways this idea that you don't be polite until really necessary works best because how many times do you see someone try being polite and just screwing up the rest of what there was of the traffic flow?
If there are no rules people tend to play fair, whilst there are rules they 'enforce' the rules.

[HQfiend]

I also agree on roundabouts vs traffic lights.

I think the main issue is those lights mostly exist for pedestrians to cross rather than so traffic can merge.

Hit it in one! Problem in Welly is the fricken blind, deaf and dumb pedestrians who step out without paying due care and attention! So the logic is at least with lights they'll wait until they get the green man before leaping like lemmings from the curb into active traffic (in the immortal words of TUI............. Yeah Right!)

[Captain_Salty]

Try riding around Christchurch streets at the mo & you'll know what shit is!

Silt, potholes, craters, cracks, lumps, bumps, jumps, roadworks, shingle, closed roads, traffic jams, road cones ........

it's about time they reprogram the green-wave on barbadoes and montreal to stay green all the time until someone on a side street triggers a change.

[Captain_Salty]

at least with lights they'll wait until they get the green man before leaping like lemmings from the curb into active traffic (in the immortal words of TUI............. Yeah Right!)

im always amazed how many pedestrians hit the cross button during a green phase and then start to cross as soon as the lights change to red