Fucked up + retarded interchanges : (A3 & Australia Avenue/Underwood Road) The DFO Roundabout

[Brendan Terrett]

Loads of people give this interchange a lot of shit for the congestion. I couldn't give a toss about that. Most of the congestion is due to traffic trying to merge onto a congested A3 during peak, so putting traffic lights in probably won't help.

I have a totally different grievance with this intersection - I was walking south from Bicentennial Park and was almost killed by a van driver who sailed through the pedestrian signals on a red light. If I hadn't have dived out of the way I would have been turned into a red smear on the pavement.

This intersection is unique in its complete and utter retardedness in design for the pedestrian crossings. Vehicles sailing through the red light are not a rare occurrence at this roundabout - about 2 in 5 cars will run the red if other cars have not already stopped.

Look at these traffic signals which are repeated on three out of four entry/exits to the roundabout (the Underwood Road side was recently moved a few hundred metres down the road). 

If you're not familiar with this intersection, you might think they're just your regular wig-wag amber signals which are used to indicate a hazard, but they are actually traffic lights which you must stop at. Drivers who have never stopped at these lights may not be aware that they are even traffic lights. This is part of the reason I believe this dickhead in the van almost smashed into me (though I don't absolve the van driver of blame, because they basically sailed through the light without any reaction to me walking in front of them - I mean who the fuck deliberately continues driving into a pedestrian? I bet they were on their mobile).

Here's how a roundabout intersection in Blacktown has traffic lights controlling the pedestrian crossings. Note how the vast majority of the traffic lights actually resemble traffic lights, because the target board appears to have space for the conventional three lights? I ventured down to Blacktown and tested the waters by walking around and waiting for the traffic to stop. Every single vehicle stopped for the red light, even the ones inside the roundabout when the lights went red. 

I'd be really curious to see the pedestrian accident statistics at the DFO roundabout. I bet it's exceptionally high.

[Conrad Zalewski]

I drive the A3/Underwood interchange almost daily, and I agree that many drivers don't stop. The ones that do stop, I can see staring into their rear view praying they don't get rear ended! I took a mate from Melbourne through there once and did the 'right turn from the left lane' and he was surprised it was allowed and how stupid it was.

From memory though, the Bungarribee/Flushcombe lights stop all traffic entering and exiting the roundabout regardless which crossing is activated? Unlike A3/Underwood, which only stops that section?
Old Windsor/Seven Hills was once a signalised roundabout too. No others come to mind in that I've seen in Sydney.

Conrad

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Conrad...

[Sam Laybutt]

The other one was Five Ways at Miranda. Agree with your thoughts on the A3 roundabout Brendan, it's pretty awful.

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From: aussie-...@googlegroups.com <aussie-...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Conrad Zalewski <f1f...@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, 7 September 2016 9:30 PM
To: aussie-...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [Aussie Highways] Fucked up + retarded interchanges : (A3 & Australia Avenue/Underwood Road) The DFO Roundabout

 

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[Paul Rands]

I remember reading an RTA publication years ago that mentioned that roundabouts and pedestrians are a poor traffic mix, and use of roundabouts should be minimised when they need to interact.

Paul Rands

li...@paulrands.com

On 8 Sep 2016, at 11:09, Sam Laybutt <crazykn...@hotmail.com> wrote:

The other one was Five Ways at Miranda. Agree with your thoughts on the A3 roundabout Brendan, it's pretty awful.

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From: aussie-...@googlegroups.com <aussie-...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Conrad Zalewski <f1f...@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, 7 September 2016 9:30 PM
To: aussie-...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [Aussie Highways] Fucked up + retarded interchanges : (A3 & Australia Avenue/Underwood Road) The DFO Roundabout

 

I drive the A3/Underwood interchange almost daily, and I agree that many drivers don't stop. The ones that do stop, I can see staring into their rear view praying they don't get rear ended! I took a mate from Melbourne through there once and did the 'right turn from the left lane' and he was surprised it was allowed and how stupid it was.

From memory though, the Bungarribee/Flushcombe lights stop all traffic entering and exiting the roundabout regardless which crossing is activated? Unlike A3/Underwood, which only stops that section?
Old Windsor/Seven Hills was once a signalised roundabout too. No others come to mind in that I've seen in Sydney.

Conrad

On 7 September 2016 at 23:06, Brendan Terrett <mubd...@gmail.com> wrote:

Loads of people give this interchange a lot of shit for the congestion. I couldn't give a toss about that. Most of the congestion is due to traffic trying to merge onto a congested A3 during peak, so putting traffic lights in probably won't help.

I have a totally different grievance with this intersection - I was walking south from Bicentennial Park and was almost killed by a van driver who sailed through the pedestrian signals on a red light. If I hadn't have dived out of the way I would have been turned into a red smear on the pavement.

This intersection is unique in its complete and utter retardedness in design for the pedestrian crossings. Vehicles sailing through the red light are not a rare occurrence at this roundabout - about 2 in 5 cars will run the red if other cars have not already stopped.

Look at these traffic signals which are repeated on three out of four entry/exits to the roundabout (the Underwood Road side was recently moved a few hundred metres down the road). 

If you're not familiar with this intersection, you might think they're just your regular wig-wag amber signals which are used to indicate a hazard, but they are actuallytraffic lights which you must stop at. Drivers who have never stopped at these lights may not be aware that they are even traffic lights. This is part of the reason I believe this dickhead in the van almost smashed into me (though I don't absolve the van driver of blame, because they basically sailed through the light without any reaction to me walking in front of them - I mean who the fuck deliberately continues driving into a pedestrian? I bet they were on their mobile).

Here's how a roundabout intersection in Blacktown has traffic lights controlling the pedestrian crossings. Note how the vast majority of the traffic lights actually resemble traffic lights, because the target board appears to have space for the conventional three lights? I ventured down to Blacktown and tested the waters by walking around and waiting for the traffic to stop. Every single vehicle stopped for the red light, even the ones inside the roundabout when the lights went red. 

I'd be really curious to see the pedestrian accident statistics at the DFO roundabout. I bet it's exceptionally high.

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Conrad...

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[Richard Ho]

Speaking of odd traffic light-controlled intersections, here's an example on both of the left-turn sliplanes at the Hart Dr (Cumberland Hwy/A28) and Old Windsor Rd (A40) junction.

In peak hours, when there are high volumes of traffic using the intersection, a red arrow is used to control traffic making the left turn. At all other times, the usual "turn left at anytime with care" applies.

[Sam Laybutt]

This is actually becoming more common in Sydney now - I noticed it on the recently duplicated section of The Northern Road at Jordan Springs and I also think there are a few on Windsor Road?

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From: aussie-...@googlegroups.com <aussie-...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Richard Ho <richa...@gmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, 8 September 2016 10:17 AM
To: Aussie Highways
Subject: [Aussie Highways] Re: Fucked up + retarded interchanges : (A3 & Australia Avenue/Underwood Road) The DFO Roundabout