“You’ve really got to expect the unexpected”: Driving instructor says “chaotic, distracting” new roundabout with cycle lanes, 36 traffic lights, and coloured surfaces has “too much to look at”

A driving instructor in Cambridge has branded a new roundabout layout in the city, which features dedicated crossing facilities for cyclists and pedestrians, “chaotic” and “too distracting” – after residents complained that the recently upgraded junction, which features 36 traffic lights, was increasing congestion and leaving “long queues of cars standing on idle”.

Earlier this month, the signalised roundabout at the junction of Milton Road, Elizabeth Way, and Highworth Avenue in Cambridge officially opened, as part of the final phase of a wider £31.9m safety improvement scheme on the Milton Road, where 90 cyclists were involved in collisions between March 2013 and April 2018.

Launched in 2022 and set to be fully completed this month, the Greater Cambridge Partnership, a collaborative body in charge of the scheme made up of local businesses, the city and county councils, and academics, says the project “aims to improve public transport, cycling, and walking infrastructure to make these sustainable travel options a more attractive alternative to the car”.

Improvements have included the installation of continuous protected cycleways and footpaths, 14 new Copenhagen crossings to provide priority for cyclists and pedestrians, a new CYCLOPS junction (the second of its kind in the city) at King’s Hedges, and other footpath and cycleway upgrades.

(Greater Cambridge Partnership)

According to the Greater Cambridge Partnership, the layout at the roundabout linking Milton Road with Highworth Avenue and Elizabeth Way has been altered to “accompany different users of Milton Road to ensure everyone can move freely and securely in buses, cars, on bicycles, wheels, or on foot”.

The new layout features dedicated and separate crossing facilities for those walking and cycling, “ensuring people can safely cross the road, even during the busiest times”. There are two crossings at the Milton Road junction, one at Highworth Avenue, and one at Elizabeth Way, along with dedicated cycle lanes circling the roundabout.

“These features will mean parents, children and commuters can have the confidence to cycle along Milton Road, whether they are heading to the shops, school, or work,” the partnership said.

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However, since its opening, the scheme has come in for criticism from local motorists, who claim the increased number of lights – prompting locals to brand it “Blackpool Illuminations” and the “birthday cake roundabout” – have led to longer queues of traffic.

“There were long queue of cars standing on idle because the red light is there for an incredibly long time while there is zero traffic on the roundabout itself. Besides, don’t traffic lights defeat the purpose of a roundabout?” one local asked on social media.

“There was never a problem in the first place!” Cambridge resident Penelope claimed.

“It is ridiculous, I have lived here for over 20 years right near the roundabout,” another added. “Cars are now unnecessarily stopped and sirens from emergency vehicles due to the lights late at night. I struggled to get out my driveway as no one wanted to let me out due to having to queue up themselves.”

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Meanwhile, Cambridge-based driving instructor Sue Papworth also told the BBC that the roundabout’s “complicated” layout was causing congestion and a “lot of anger” among locals.

“There are too many distractions by way of traffic lights,” she said. “We’ve now got cycle lanes that are going both ways round the roundabout [and] because of the confusion you’ve really got to expect the unexpected.

“We’ve got a signalised parallel crossing that allows people to walk and cycle across the road separately, special paved and coloured surfaces that separate the crossings, and it’s just too distracting. There’s too much to look at.”

“It’s a place where they can ride safely and let their children ride independently too”

Nevertheless, Camcycle, the Cambridge Cycling Campaign, has praised the new layout, which it claims has opened up the junction to children and less confident cyclists who had previously claimed that they would take longer detours to avoid the roundabout and that it was “only traversable by the brave”.

“When we launched our campaign for Safe Junctions back in 2021, many people told us this was one of the junctions they avoided,” Camcycle said.

“Now, many who were put off cycling here feel it’s a place where they can ride safely and let their children ride independently too. It’s an important part of the protected route down Milton Road rather than a broken link in the cycle network.”

(Camcycle)

Echoing Camcycle’s comments, the Greater Cambridge Partnership responded to complaints from drivers by saying: “Our challenge has been to develop a scheme so parents, children and commuters can have the confidence to walk and cycle along Milton Road, as well as to manage traffic flow along the road.

“There will be a period of on-site monitoring in order to make adjustments to ensure both the traffic flows smoothly, and the new pedestrian and cycle crossing points have adequate time to accommodate the many movements made at certain times of the day.”

This isn’t the first time, of course, that aspects of the Milton Road improvement scheme have come in for criticism.

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In October 2023, parts of the project’s protected cycleways and footpaths were reworked after users of the route pointed out how narrow the pavement is in places, raising concerns about access for disabled people and risk of collisions involving cyclists using the adjacent cycle lane.

The scheme’s issues were highlighted by locals who pointed out the placing of lampposts on the already narrow footpath, plus other narrow sections, made the route dangerous for pedestrians, with particular concerns that users could be hit by cyclists using the cycle lane that runs next to it.

In places the footway was just 90cm wide, prompting Conservative councillor Delowar Hossain to label the path “too narrow and dangerous” and accusing the partnership of wasting money.

The chief executive of “everyday walking charity” Living Streets also criticised the lack of consideration for pedestrians, particularly those with mobility issues or young children.

“It is vital that people walking or wheeling have enough space to do so safely – we want to see paths at least 1.5-2m wide. This allows for wheelchairs or buggies to pass safely,” Stephen Edwards said.

“It is important to ensure that people walking have adequate safe space, free of clutter, and aren’t forced to put themselves into the potentially dangerous way of oncoming cyclists.”