A roundabout is a roundabout

way of solving a problem it would seem. 

There are plans to build a roundabout costing some millions of dollars at a "black spot" in a neighbouring council area. On more than one occasion I have been past the spot on the trusty tricycle but it is an area I normally avoid. 

It is true there is a problem there and I am a cautious sort of cat on the roads - or footpaths. I dislike cars and travelling in them.  The problem there is one for cyclists. You cannot see properly. There is some greenery which gets in the way.

The report into the plans however suggest that this is some sort of major problem which needs to be fixed with an expensive roundabout. The same report also included a suggestion from a retired policed officer with a good deal of traffic experience. He suggests removing some of the greenery. 

You would not be cutting down any trees. They are not a problem. It is the lower shrubs. They block your view. These shrubs have actually been allowed to get larger than originally intended. They require ongoing maintenance - which they do not always get. Something else could be put in their place.

But no, the roundabout is apparently the answer.

I am reminded of yet another traffic problem. It involves a set of roads and a railway crossing. There are stop signs on all four roads and they apply to the roads. They do not apply to the railway crossing which goes through it. At some times of the day there is a bar on turning into one of the side streets.  The road rises and falls on either side of the crossing. It is a complex traffic area. The police love to sit there and fine those who fail to stop. It is, as one member of the force told me, "the crossing that keeps on giving" in fines.

There are plans to put traffic lights in there but they would be lights which would only operate when a train was going through. Apparently the boom gates are not enough. There is nothing in this plan which would actually solve the problem which relates to the other traffic. 

Someone I know lives on one of the side streets involved. He spent many years working for the railways. He knows a great deal about railway crossings. He has discussed the traffic issues with the police. His solution to the problem is a simple one. It is a safe one and it could be put in at a fraction of the cost while actually solving the problem. It would also make the area much safer for the heavy pedestrian (mostly high school) traffic. 

So far the council is refusing to listen even while one of the council engineers has agreed with J.... that the solution would work and work well. No, we are apparently going to have traffic lights at a point where they will just cause frustration and fail to solve the problem.

I know this goes on all the time....but sometimes the simplest solution is the best one.