I rode both of Britain’s so-called ‘Dutch Roundabouts’ last week: the one in Sheffield that opened in Dec 2024, and the one in Cambridge that opened in summer 2020.
Many cycle-infra buffs reckon Britain’s ‘Dutch’ roundabouts are about as Dutch as a ski resort, and don’t closely resemble the various layouts that bike-friendly gyratories have in the Netherlands.
What makes them unusual for Britain, though, is that there’s a circular bike path outside the central roundabout which the road traffic has to give way to. If you wanted, you could ride round it without stopping all day.
Which is appropriate. Because going round and round in circles is something familiar to cycle campaigners.
Anyway, predictably, the Sheffield one (at the junction of West Bar, West Bar Green, and Corporation St) was the subject of some near-hysterical news reports. Poor motorists would be gridlocked, finding the priority system as challenging as a proposition from Einstein. Locals predicted a bloodbath.
Well, surprise surprise. Like the Cambridge roundabout (at the junction of Queen Edith’s Way and Fendon Rd), it’s all very underwhelming. Just, erm, you know, a roundabout. But with, like, a bit of extra give-way to cyclists. The drivers seem perfectly able to cope on the evidence of my visits. No problem, move along folks, nothing to see here.