‘Insane’ Cyclops roundabout with 31 traffic lights to open

The new Cyclops roundabout in Cambridge will be the second of its kind in the UK

Credit: Bav Media

A so-called Cyclops roundabout with more than 30 sets of traffic lights around it is set to open in Cambridge,despite local fears that it amounts to “insanity”.

Local residents slammed the installation of the lights around the roundabout on Cambridge’s Milton Road,which was part of a two-year,£24 million road upgrade project.

It comes after the local council was ridiculed for publishing a video explaining how to use the city’s first Cyclops junction,on the nearby Histon Road,despite it having been opened three years ago.

Cambridge’s new four-way Cyclops roundabout is the second of its kind in the UK and the first built outside Greater Manchester.

The Greater Cambridge Partnership,which runs the city’s roads,said the 31 sets of traffic lights around the junction are part of a wider scheme aimed at keeping cyclists safe from pedestrians and cars.

Yet Shane Manning,the local Conservative parliamentary candidate for Cambridge,branded the scheme “insanity”.

“This is the third time the Labour and Lib Dem-run GCP have installed absurd layouts to suit their ideological agenda at the expense of residents,” said Mr Manning.

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

“31 different traffic lights will cause chaos for all road and path users and make journeys more dangerous and more confusing.”

The idea behind the so-called Cyclops junction is that traffic is held at a complete standstill from all four directions,while cyclists cross it. Separate sets of traffic lights keep cycle riders apart from both conventional traffic and pedestrians on foot.

Pedestrians cross at the same time as cyclists – but on a separate ring of paths in the middle of the junction,whilst zebra crossings on each side provide a safe place to cross the cycle lane.

The 31 sets of traffic lights around the junction are said to be part of a wider scheme aimed at keeping cyclists safe from pedestrians and cars

Credit: Bav Media

Referring to the city’s first Cyclops junction,which was so confusing that the council was forced to publish a video explaining its use,Councillor Elisa Meschini,chairman of the Greater Cambridge Partnership’s executive board,said in May,: “The Cyclops junction has been an excellent addition to Histon Road,and this new junction will provide similar benefits to people travelling along Milton Road.

“It is part of our ambition to deliver first-class walking and cycling infrastructure to encourage more people to travel sustainability.”

The specialised roundabout,which is located on the junction between Cambridge’s Milton Lane and Elizabeth Way,is expected to open fully within the next fortnight.

The Greater Cambridge Partnership was contacted for comment.

Cyclops junctions originated in Holland,where the country’s flat terrain lends itself well to cycling. The idea of junctions in zebra crossings and traffic lights,to prioritise cyclists over other road users,was first imported to Britain in 2019 by Greater Manchester council.

That resulted in the building of a junction dubbed “dangerous” and “confusing” by locals – costing £1 million to create three cycle junctions appearing to face each other.

The Cyclops concept has also caught on with other councils’ road planners around the country.

Chris Shaw of Sutton,writing in a letter to the St Helens Star earlier this year,said: “Since the Cyclops junction has come into operation,I have seen many things: cars jumping lanes,near-misses due to the blind spots that it has created,pedestrians dawdling across the road on mobile phones ignoring the pedestrian crossings and HGV drivers struggling to turn due to the badly designed narrow turnings.”