Milton Road roundabout in Cambridge with its ‘forest of lights’ divides opinion

A newly-upgraded roundabout in Cambridge with 36 traffic signals has been dubbed a ‘forest of lights’ by users, who say it has created queues of vehicles.

Motorists have been left queuing at the new signalised roundabout at the junction of Milton Road and Elizabeth Way, with many taking to social media to vent their frustrations.

However, others say the revised roundabout means that people of all ages can traverse the junction – previously an accident blackspot – more safely on foot or bicycle.

Dorcas Fowler has lived in the Milton Road for 30 years and says the morning rush-hour has turned into “long snarl-ups” now the traffic lights have been turned on, following the completion of work by the Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP).

“My neighbour told me that the day after the switch-on that she had to go by taxi to Addenbrooke’s for an appointment on a weekday at 7.30am and that the journey was a nightmare. You can imagine the anxiety,” said Dorcas. “It will get worse as people will divert through Chesterton Road and cause jams at the roundabout with that road and Elizabeth Way, resulting in a total jam in our part of Cambridge.

“As I understand it, the main purpose was to make things easier for pedestrians and cyclists. It is therefore my suggestion that, for an experimental period, the traffic lights be switched off while those controls accessed by pedestrians and cyclists are kept on. This would mean that when there were no pedestrians or cyclists wishing to cross, the road traffic could flow through as before.

“What the GCP failed to take into account is that outside of the peak hours, the traffic down Milton Road was always much lighter, but now it is restricted by the lights causing an unnecessary build-up.”

David Creek lives off Milton Road and uses the roundabout every day as a driver, cyclist and pedestrian.

He says the “wonderful development” makes all three much safer and pleasant and worth the two years of disruption.

However, he says, the changes are spoiled by the 24/7 traffic lights, which are stopping cars for “no reason”.

“Overall, a great scheme but lights on a roundabout are OK for when cyclists and pedestrians [are] waiting to cross but madness, frustrating and annoying when sitting in a car queueing for nothing and the way ahead is clear,” he said.

The roundabout was lit up on Tuesday (8 October) and is part of a raft of changes along Milton Road which aim to enhance bus and active travel and journeys along the key route in and out of Cambridge.

The GCP started work on the £31.9million scheme in 2022, and it features new bus lanes, pedestrian crossings and a dedicated cycle lane.

The roundabout has been likened by some to Blackpool Illuminations, with many complaining that the traffic flowed steadily before the switch-on.

“It is ridiculous, I have lived here for over 20 years right near the roundabout,” one person wrote. “I struggled to get out of my driveway as no-one wanted to let me out due to having to queue up themselves. It was functioning fine with much less unnecessary waiting/traffic without the lights on prior.”

Another added: “I have experienced the same living very near this roundabout myself. It really is a bad implementation.”

“Originally I thought the lights would be only for pedestrians when they want to cross but no, these lights are on all the time,” said one shocked user.

Others accused the GCP of “artificially creating” traffic jams and as a result, creating pollution for residents.

The Hurst Park Estate Residents’ Association (HPERA) says “many residents” appreciate being able to cross the road more safely. However, it has concerns about the “excessive number of traffic lights”.

A statement from the association said: “The new roundabout has received mixed reviews so far. Some drivers are frustrated that only one feeder road at a time gets a green light to join the traffic flow and they believe this contributes to delay and longer traffic queues.

“On the other hand the many residents who walk and cycle, especially parents and children, appreciate being able to move around and cross the road in much greater safety than before. They also appreciate the excellent tree planting.

“However, the landscaping is rather overshadowed by the excessive number of traffic lights – can someone explain why it’s necessary for drivers on each of the three main feeder roads to be faced with four sets of lights as they approach the stop line rather than the usual two?”

The new roundabout includes two crossings at the Milton Road junction, one crossing at Highworth Avenue and one at the Elizabeth Way junction.

Proposals were first put to the public in a consultation in 2015, with a second consultation held in 2018.

The GCP – a collaboration of businesses, councils and academia – approved the scheme in 2022 before construction began in the autumn of that year.

The scheme also includes a “cycling optimised protected signals” (CYCLOPS) junction, which segregates pedestrians and cyclists from motorised traffic, at King’s Hedges.

There is also a signalised T-junction with two crossings at Gilbert Road and a signalised crossroads with four crossings at Arbury Road.

Josh Grantham, infrastructure campaigner at the charity Camcycle, said previously the roundabout was a barrier to people walking, wheeling and cycling, with narrow shared paths and no crossings on three of the four arms of the junction.”

He told the Cambridge Independent: “In the five years from 2018 to 2023, there were 18 collisions involving cyclists, five of them serious.

“The signalised roundabout we have now means that people of all ages and abilities can traverse the junction safely, including many younger, older and less confident cyclists who wouldn’t have used it before. The county council’s statistics are already showing an increase in the number of people cycling along Milton Road and we expect these numbers to rise further once the scheme is complete.

“The council should continue to monitor the junction and make adjustments to the signals as required, but must do this in a way that balances the needs of all users. It’s not just drivers who may feel they are waiting too long for a green light.

“There were other options that could have been used to improve safety at this location, such as a Dutch roundabout or CYCLOPS junction. However, I expect that all of them would have also faced opposition from those resistant to any change that requires their journeys to be slightly interrupted in order to enable others to safely cross the road.”

A GCP spokesperson said: “The development of the roundabout is part of our wider Milton Road project was to further improve safety and journeys on this busy route into the city. At public consultation, the community told us they wanted to retain a roundabout. However, the previous layout was a known accident spot – between March 2013 and April 2018, 20 per cent (18 out of 90) of all accidents involving cyclists along the whole of Milton Road were on this roundabout. Also prior to the scheme’s construction, there was congestion at this roundabout due to the dominant flow of traffic between Elizabeth Way and Milton Road north.

“The new layout features dedicated crossing facilities so pedestrians and cyclists can safely cross the road, even during the busiest times. These features will mean parents, children and commuters can have the confidence to walk and cycle along Milton Road, whether they are heading to the shops, school or work as well as to manage traffic flow on the roundabout itself.

“With a junction as complex as this, it is usual that after installation there will be a period of on-site monitoring in order to make adjustments to ensure that both the traffic flows smoothly, and the pedestrian and cycle crossing points have adequate time to accommodate the many movements that are made at certain times of the day. We’d like to thank everyone for their patience during this process as we work to make the scheme as effective as possible for everyone travelling in the area.”