* That's islands for our Midland members ...

It seems that most new roundabouts that appear nowadays in urban situations have some kind of apron. Below are three examples ...

Big Apron (with very low kerb)



Medium apron, again with low kerb ...


Tiny apron with higher kerb; not one I'd cut (unless apex clipping at speed ) but what's its point?



I look to take the shortest route whenever I can so will always go over the apron, particularly in the case of roundabouts like the first one. This produces some strange looks from the car in front when it pootles the "long way round" as I cut the corner. (For the record, I never make it look like I'm trying to undertake them)

If these aprons aren't meant to be driven on, why put such a low/negligible kerb on them? Indeed, why have the apron at all?

What do others do and what do we think the rules are?

 

Is it to save money on actually building something?

Visual deterrent to reduce speed but doesnt affect emergency services?

They think it looks cool?

The government are about to announce the roads are now a free for all racetrack with no limits?

 

Well, Stobby with a 40' tri-axle's gonna drive over it anyway, so it really doesn't matter if there are rules to the contrary.

I think they're just a 'Civic beautification project' - they are a waste of money, look fiddly & are merely over-complicated visual noise - like many things these days.

 

Nightmare for anything with skinny tyres too - wait till one of those HGV rips out some of the fancy brickwork .... just makes them even more dangerous plus the change on grip on the dual surfaces is a nightmare in the wet.

 

Good points indeed; especially if it's got double wheels & not super-singles; picks up a paving block between the tyres & lobs it at your head/windscreen...

More proof that town planners haven't got the brains they were born with. Maybe that was where the block went.

 

These are the same ones that are replacing roundabouts in Milton Keynes with traffic lights and also adding traffic lights TO roundabouts and wondering where the congestion has appeared from.

Pedestrian routes that are no longer seperate to the roadways ( redways worked for a reason ) - wondering why the accident rate has increased and congenstion increased because now you mix the traffic with people, you need to bring the speed limts down to 30s and 40s instead of 60 pretty much everywhere.

Town planning - complete and utter oxymoron it seems.

 

roundabout straightliners get right on my tits...countless times i have had to brake hard because they come into my lane...cnuts !!!

 

I go round. Mainly because it's more fun.

I thought the point was to slow down ordinary traffic (by them going the long way), but not making it too narrow for HGVs.

 

Yeah but that's on dual lane roundabouts - these are single lane ones but with a complete waste of an added lane made from poncy bricks.

 

Poncy bricks, dreamed up by boncy pricks.