Cycling junction so ‘confusing’ council bosses make guide on how to use it
A cycling road junction in Cambridge is so confusing that council bosses have made a video guide explaining how to use it.
The junction, where the city’s Histon Road meets Gilbert Road and Warwick Road, is based on Dutch intersections where there are far more cyclists than in the UK.
So baffling to some is the layout that the Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP), made up of the local councils covering the area, has now uploaded a video explainer to YouTube ahead of a similar junction being created nearby.
The “Cycling Optimised Protected Signals” (Cyclops) junction includes four pedestrian islands, four miniature zebra crossings and eight sets of traffic lights for cyclists and pedestrians. The arrangement creates a circular path for cyclists around a crossroads for cars.
It was installed as part of a £24 million road upgrade project which was supposed to make the area safer for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers alike by separating them from one another.
However, the GCP said there have been six “slight injury” collisions on the junction since it opened in 2021. In the three years before that there was one serious injury collision and four slight injuries reported at the same location.
The video shows people what to do when they approach the junction. Cyclists can make a left turn at any point or use the buttons for bike-dedicated traffic lights to request a green light to turn right or travel straight on without having to mix with vehicles.
The video’s narrator says: “The traffic signals have been set up to provide enough time for cyclists to make a full right turn manoeuvre around the junction in one continuous movement.”
However, she adds: “Cyclists must stop when the cycle-specific signals are red so that they do not conflict with traffic.
“Alternatively, cyclists can choose to stay on the road and follow the route directly ahead - or you can make a left or right turn across the junction, following the road markings.”
Pedestrians cross at the same time as cyclists, but on a separate ring of paths in the middle of the junction, while zebra crossings on each side provide a safe place to cross the cycle lane.
A GCP spokesman said: “People like the junction because it functions as a normal crossroads for vehicles and it provides additional segregation for pedestrians and cyclists from motorised traffic to improve road safety for everyone.
“It is a key part of our award-winning Histon Road project which commuters have told us how much they enjoy travelling on.
“The aim of the film, like others created around the country, is to introduce this innovative new design to people who have not yet had the opportunity to use the existing Cyclops junction ahead of the opening of a new junction on Milton Road later this year.
“This will only help to build confidence and encourage more people to walk, wheel and cycle around our rapidly growing city region.”
However, some locals are less than delighted. The Cambridge Independent reported in October that Milton Road residents were incensed by the plans for their area, which include shrinking pavements to install bus and cycle lanes leading up to the new junction.
Zachary Marsh, chairman of Cambridge City Conservatives, told The Telegraph: “This is the latest in a long line of GCP initiatives causing chaos for cyclists, pedestrians and drivers alike.
“We are very concerned this Cyclops junction could lead to extra confusion. Their Dutch-style roundabout has already led to an increase in collisions and we are terrified it could happen in this case.”
The design is being rolled out across the country.
A similar junction in St Helens, near Liverpool, has also prompted ire from locals.
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.”
Last year residents in Manchester also criticised a similar junction in the Bury area as “dangerous” and “confusing”.
