Model Boat Mayhem

Mess Deck: General Section => Chit-Chat => Topic started by: Big Ada on April 29, 2008, 05:43:55 pm

Title: Roundabouts
Post by: Big Ada on April 29, 2008, 05:43:55 pm
This one is in Folkestone Kent UK, Planted up with large suculent type plants and pilars made out of large stones with holes etc.
Title: Re: Roundabouts
Post by: Roger in France on April 29, 2008, 05:56:39 pm
Hey, the arrows are going the wrong way around the ronde point!

Seriously, the French love to decorate roundabouts. I have, locally: a miniature church; a row boat with passengers; a gigantic teddy bear; a miniature footpath with walkers and cyclists; a depiction of what an oyster bed looks like as well as some impressive planting.

Roger in France.
Title: Re: Roundabouts
Post by: Colin Bishop on April 29, 2008, 05:59:47 pm
I think this one is just magic!

Title: Re: Roundabouts
Post by: portside II on April 29, 2008, 06:01:13 pm
there used to be a tramp living on one near us ,he had been there for about 10 years until he died.
daz
Title: Re: Roundabouts
Post by: Roger in France on April 29, 2008, 06:02:57 pm
Did they bury him there?

Ah, Colin, such memories! I was still watching it long after our kids left home.

Roger in France.
Title: Re: Roundabouts
Post by: bigfella on April 29, 2008, 11:06:00 pm
There is one here in Australia somewhere that is so big it has a Footbal Pitch in the middle of it. I will try and find a picture.
Title: Re: Roundabouts
Post by: sheerline on April 29, 2008, 11:08:09 pm
Wonderful inventions, roundabouts, designed to keep the traffic flowing freely, so why do the highways idiots put traffic lights on them and stuff them up?? Now, I can to some degree understand that at really busy peak times on certain roundabouts, local conditions tend to favour certain roads and the others can suffer so I will concede that there is some point in installing them for peak conditions. But they leave the traffic lights operational 24 hours a day so whats the ruddy point in being stopped in the early hours of the morning by a set of lights on a roundabout? A simple timeswitch is all it takes and everyone is happy.
Just think of the amount of fuel being burnt up by idling engines waiting at dumb traffic lights up and down the length and the breadth of the country on roundabouts at any one time.
I think the carbon footprint of the motorist could be greatly reduced for the sake of a tuppeney ha'penny switch here and there. No wonder the oil companies have just announced record quarterly profits today!
Anyway, roundabouts....... wonderful inventions....if they leave them alone!

Cor, that feels better! :P
Title: Re: Roundabouts
Post by: dougal99 on April 30, 2008, 11:28:26 am
Traffic Circle as our American exchange student would have it ???
Title: Re: Roundabouts
Post by: catengineman on April 30, 2008, 11:35:08 am
Here in Lovely Lowestoft, our super duper planing departments put some nice roundabouts on the new relief road system the even left the old (could be redundant) ones and then to make the whole job perfect they have put traffic lights and zebra crossings 15 meters from *EVERY* exit off the roundabouts so while the traffic can flow very well this all goes to pot when 1 person pushes the control button to cross the road, this stops that line of traffis off the round about which also holds up the other areas.

R,
Title: Re: Roundabouts
Post by: mogsy on April 30, 2008, 01:12:10 pm
How about this in Cardiff?

Known as 'TheMagicRoundabout'


Title: Re: Roundabouts
Post by: tigertiger on April 30, 2008, 01:13:51 pm
Traffic Circle as our American exchange student would have it ???

He has obviosly been to Dundee.Where they do not have roundabouts, they have 'circles'.
Title: Re: Roundabouts
Post by: tigertiger on April 30, 2008, 01:17:12 pm
Wonderful inventions, roundabouts, designed to keep the traffic flowing freely, so why do the highways idiots put traffic lights on them and stuff them up?? Now, I can to some degree understand that at really busy peak times on certain roundabouts, local conditions tend to favour certain roads and the others can suffer so I will concede that there is some point in installing them for peak conditions. But they leave the traffic lights operational 24 hours a day so whats the ruddy point in being stopped in the early hours of the morning by a set of lights on a roundabout? A simple timeswitch is all it takes and everyone is happy.
Just think of the amount of fuel being burnt up by idling engines waiting at dumb traffic lights up and down the length and the breadth of the country on roundabouts at any one time.
I think the carbon footprint of the motorist could be greatly reduced for the sake of a tuppeney ha'penny switch here and there. No wonder the oil companies have just announced record quarterly profits today!
Anyway, roundabouts....... wonderful inventions....if they leave them alone!

Cor, that feels better! :P

Two answers that spring to mind.

The beneficial one.
When the roundabout is chock full, then they can turn all entry lights red, and vehicles can olnly exit. The roundabout clears very quickly and then normal sevice is resumed.

The other one.
On 24 hours so they can give more tickets for enoforcment cameras for red lights. They go me at 6 am and there were only two of us on a r/bt on the Gloucester ringroad.
Title: Re: Roundabouts
Post by: chingdevil on April 30, 2008, 01:49:15 pm
Our American friends do not do roundabouts well, the last time I was in Clearwater Florida they were just completing one. You stop to check it is clear for you to procede you either get a screech of brakes as the struggle to stop behind you or you find out their horns work because you have stopped, when you got onto the roundabout it becomes a race track. I have no idea what they are like if the come over here and drive.

Brian
Title: Re: Roundabouts
Post by: tigertiger on April 30, 2008, 02:12:30 pm
Roundabouts in China don't work. There is no concept of yielding, or giving way. The guy in front, or with the loudest horn, the biggest truck, or the person with the biggest spheroids gets right of way.

I saw a guy on a moped pull forward against the red light and got hit by another moped rider giong on green. They were arguing about whose fault it was.
Title: Re: Roundabouts
Post by: sheerline on May 01, 2008, 10:25:07 am
Catengineman,  I also live in your region and I am sure you have experienced the abomination known as the Gapton Hall roundabout in Great Yarmouth.... they certainly mucked that one up! The lane markings are stupid and coupled with the idiocy of the drivers who use the thing results in a lot of friction due to lane changing and queue jumping. I avoid Yarmouth at the best of times and definately do not go there at 'knocking off time' as its a nightmare.
Title: Re: Roundabouts
Post by: djrobbo on May 01, 2008, 04:15:23 pm
We have what we  call the magic roundabout leading off canvey . Its a huge great roundabout with five littler sattelite roundabouts.  round it at the junction of each road which means you go the right way round the little roundabouts but the wrong way round the big one , er , if you see what i mean , i think ........anywho its great fun watching people from outside the area trying to get to grips with it.........and it generates a lot of business for the local recovery trucks , sweeping up the bits :D
Title: Re: Roundabouts
Post by: catengineman on May 01, 2008, 09:14:45 pm
Hi sheerline, 
          Yes I too avoid Yarmo like the plague (unless the spanner wants to go to T K Max  >>:-( )


Hi djrobbo,
          Know that roundabout very well, Bro live's at Tar Pots and I used to live in Fobbing (Stamford no Hope)

R,
Title: Re: Roundabouts
Post by: alan colson on May 01, 2008, 10:52:43 pm
djrobbo
There is a similar roundabout in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, it used to have 6 sattelite roundabouts years ago and you could again go the wrong way around the big roundabout. But a building across one of the approach/exit roads owned by Kodak started to collapse and they had to hold it up with scaffolding so that mini roundabout is now redundent.
Alan
Title: Re: Roundabouts
Post by: Big Ada on May 02, 2008, 05:15:55 pm
Hi Guys,
When I started this off I thought we might see some more photos,there are some lovely floral ones in France.

Len.
Title: Re: Roundabouts
Post by: Roger in France on May 02, 2008, 07:36:20 pm
Now look here! The local French already think I am a mad Englishman, "Regardez, Pierre. Zat strange anglais, e az ze toy boats".

If you think I am going to be seen photographing les ronde point...non mes amis, non.

Roger in France.
Title: Re: Roundabouts
Post by: alan colson on May 02, 2008, 10:14:20 pm
I have found a couple of pictures for you Big Ada, but was having trouble putting them on the web site so have forwarded them to Martin and hopefully he can arrange for them to be posted
Alan
Title: Re: Roundabouts
Post by: catengineman on May 24, 2008, 06:45:29 pm
Here is just one from Gibralta,

I may get more when I return to the ship there.