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Avon Roundabouts, mini roundabouts, Roundabout in Leek, Roundabouts, Roundabouts: taking a closer look at reality., Staffordshire, The Magic Roundabou
These last couple of days we have been discussing Roundabouts, in case you missed it here are the links: Roundabouts: Engineers making the world a little more beautiful and safe, where we discussed the benefits of roundabouts. Elevating the concept of Roundabouts showed the innovation of engineers in using the concept of roundabouts and applying it in a creative way to solve the issues of safety and add some aesthetics along the way by creating a multi level roundabout.
Today however, we have decided to explore three famous roundabouts.
Leave a comment tell us what roundabout you think should have been featured or your favorite.
1. Roundabout in Leek, Staffordshire.
History proves over an over again that change is inevitable but what happens when a small neighborhood losses a piece of history? Well, in the case of the historic roundabout that stood for 185 years in Leek, Staffordshire, a huge protest. The modest roundabout would be converted to a traffic light system to deal with the increase of traffic created by a Sainsbury’s supermarket.
The small community gathered in hopes of saving their beloved roundabout. Protesters argued the roundabout, which is also known as the Nicholson War Memorial Island, has been a symbol for the town since 1930. “It’s a real work of art that you won’t be able to replace when it’s gone,” said Angie Stephenson. For more information on this story go to Leek roundabout: Why did protestors try so hard to save it?
2. The Magic Roundabout in Swindon, England.
The Magic Roundabout in Swindon, England was constructed in 1972. This eye catching roundabout consists of five mini-roundabouts arranged around a central roundabout. In addition, the roundabout has put Swindon on the map for its ‘adventurous piece of engineering’. To determine the functionality of the design let us view the comparison.
“On the old roundabout the saturation or the maximum amount of traffic you could get through the roundabout was 5,100 vehicles per hour.”
“Using the five ring junction principle, with the five mini roundabouts that’s there now, gave a capacity of 6,200. So that’s the one we adopted.”
For more information visit The man behind the Magic Roundabout
In an effort to eliminate traffic congestion, the Town of Avon used not one but five roundabouts along the entire length of Avon Road, creating the longest wide-node-narrow-link road in America. To read more visit Avon Roundabouts.
CCD Engineering Ltd 
