Too-early turners cause chaos at 'confusing' new roundabout

Wednesday, 31 October 2018

A new roundabout to improve traffic flow at growing retail park confused motorists when it was opened several months ago.

In a town with no traffic lights and just roundabouts, you would think another one wouldn't be a problem.

But a half-completed roundabout at a retail park on the outskirts of Blenheim has caused a stir among motorists thanks to its 'confusing' layout, which has encouraged some drivers to veer across lanes.

The roundabout was installed as part of Kmart's expansion into Marlborough and would help manage higher traffic flows once the retail giant opened in 2019.

Blenheim resident Ann Steel says '90 per cent' of people in Blenheim don't understand roundabouts.

But Blenheim resident Neil Gibbs said the lack of proper signage meant it was 'only a matter of time' before someone had a head-on collision.

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'I almost got cleaned up by a guy in a van, because he came there and seems to have thought, 'I can drive on the right-hand side',' Gibbs said.

The roundabout will act as an entry point to both Bunnings Warehouse and Kmart.

'The guy just zapped in front of me and when I looked at the layout of the roundabout, I saw how he could easily take it to meant that.

'Because of the position of it, some people are doing a right there and going the wrong way around the roundabout.'

Traffic islands will be installed over the next coming weeks to help form proper lanes.

Gibbs said he had driven around the roundabout a lot since its construction as he was renovating his house and often went to Bunnings Warehouse for items.

He said traffic cones had been placed before the roundabout to help steer motorists in the right direction, but people just drove over them.

A lack of proper signage also made the small roundabout 'a bit of a dog's body', he said.

But Ann Steel, who also lived in Blenheim, said she thought the roundabout made 'full logical sense'.

'Everything is going to flow a lot easier, and if people thought about it and used it, they'd realise it will bring a much better flow.

'It was a stupid entrance the way [the road] was before because people were cutting the corner coming in, which left you having to hesitate quite a number of times before you could get out.'

Steel said over a 45-minute period, she had observed more than 200 motorists enter the Bunnings Warehouse car park through the correct lane, with just two drivers crossing through the wrong lane.

There would 'not be any real confusion' once the proper roundabout signage was erected, she said, and suggested traffic be directed into Bunnings Warehouse past PGG Wrightsons.

Steel also said she noticed that '90 per cent' of Marlburians didn't know how to navigate a roundabout, despite roundabouts being Blenheim's preferred choice of intersection.

'People seem to stop and wait at each roundabout, instead of seeing and analysing what people at the other three entrances are doing and continuing through,' she said.

'I think there's a lack of understanding surrounding roundabouts in Blenheim, and that's why people are complaining about the new one.'

Robinson Construction owner and property developer Phil Robinson said the purpose of the roundabout was to control traffic speeds in the area as it developed.

'The original configuration of road wasn't performing as anticipated with the entrance into Bunnings Warehouse,' Robinson said.

'Adding the entrance into Kmart at the same entry point would have made the problem worse. You would have been doubling the number of traffic at the same point.

'It would have been chaos, so we needed to slow people down. We needed to control the traffic along that stretch so it is safer for all users of the road.'

Robinson said he understood part of the reason people were driving the wrong way around the roundabout was because it had yet to be completed.

Signage, road markings and separation islands would be installed over the coming weeks to help 'properly form the lanes', he said.

'That's why the cones are there to direct traffic until road markings are completed,' Robinson said. 'We're holding a meeting to discuss the items in the next few weeks.'

A Marlborough Roads spokeswoman said the Westwood Development road was privately-owned and therefore did not fall under the jurisdiction of the council or Marlborough Roads.

A Bunnings Warehouse spokesman said the roundabout had been installed as part of the new development and was not owned by the corporation.