After months of travel disruption the new and improved Smallbrook Roundabout in Ryde has fully reopened – just in time for Easter.
The 6-month long project by Island Roads for the Isle of Wight Council has introduced several safety features at Smallbrook, which includes the realignment of the junction’s approaches and introduction of new traffic Islands.
Visibility on the roundabout approaches has also been improved, especially for traffic approaching from Smallbrook Lane and Carters Road. There is also additional streetlighting, a speed limit reduction from 40mph to 30mph and anti-skid ‘slow down strips’ will soon be laid.
The roundabout reopened on Thursday night and the only outstanding work is the final installation of some streetlighting columns in the coming weeks, which will be completed under 4-way traffic lights. Furthermore, the application of the anti-skid surfacing (this cannot be done straight after resurfacing) is anticipated to be undertaken in June/July 2022.
Councillor Phil Jordan, Isle of Wight Council cabinet member for highways and transportation, has said:
“It is great news that these important junction safety improvements have been completed in time for Easter.
“I would like to thank all those involved and also the residents and road users for their patience and understanding during the road closures that were required in order for work to be undertaken.”
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Dave Marsh, Island Roads’ design manager, has said:
“This has been a complex project that has had to accommodate numerous environmental considerations as well as the re-routing of major utility infrastructure.
“We have also had to deal with bad weather, the ongoing effects of Coronavirus and also some supply chain issues. By working well with the utility companies, our environmental partners and others, we have been able to substantially finish works ahead of Easter which I know will be welcomed by residents whose co-operation throughout the work really has been appreciated.”
Looks good, hope to try it out soon. I wonder how long it will be before someone parks on that cobbled area. The next thing to do is teach islanders how a roundabout works.
And indicators
And filtering on to Dual carriage way.
Looks the business, lets see how long it takes for the first RTC to happen there, the books are now open for the sweepstake lol.
By the end of the month !!!!!
‘Visibility on the roundabout approaches has been improved’ Which is odd because on a lot of other roundabouts visibility is deliberately restricted by the use of signage and bushes to, I assume, force drivers to slow down or stop because they can’t see what’s approaching or using the roundabout from other directions.
I must be getting cynical in my old(er) age because I just can’t see this all this work being done (6 months) just to improve visibility at what is a relatively minor roundabout.
Clearly done as part of infrastructure spending the council can highlight to support new housing estates in Ryde. A new roundabout at Westridge Cross next. And mini roundabouts supporting these two larger ones.
Still won’t resolve the traffic problems on Brading Road with McDonalds though.
McDonald’s should move. So busy now. It’s in the wrong place. Queues block the main A3055?
Yea I thought that,when it’s busy it’s a pain holding up main stream traffic so people can get a burger.needs something done.
Well noted Catherine I was thinking the same this is going to be a flyover for the racers as will look clear from a distance that will encouragement to think you can speed up .
lets wait and see shall we
That happened to me on Friday a madman came from Carter’s Road did not give way to me on this right must have gone straight across the white painted circle it will happen alot.
Yes but remember island roads are different and so to are the drivers here!
6 months for that, and they still haven’t finished. What the hell is going on? How much more public money to be spent on this? Total scandal, but what else do you expect?
So kiss goodbye to the natural darkness of the area as street lights are installed. So much for the dark sky agenda from this deceitful council.
All this was done of course to then remove the last valid obstacle (traffic management) so that developers can ruin the beautiful smallbrook valley by us, not them having to pay for this roundabout.
Made even worse by the council pretending it is for our safety but really to keep very grateful developer pals sweet
Que the destruction of hedges trees wild grassland and all the millions of creatures who rely on it all for benefit boxes for the UK’s and worlds breeders.
Ruined forever
This will confuse island drivers, a proper marked out roundabout another of which they will not have clue how to approach or whose git right of way lol.
Why did they not make a proper Roundabout instead of a Mini one painted on the road
drivers will just cut across it instead of going around like your supposed to at a Roundabout !!!
The cost to put in a raised roundabout is much more than a painted circle. Just wait until the speeders and the drunk & drugged up drivers get down there. As you state, they won’t go around it, they’ll go straight over it. And we all wonder why there are so many accidents on this island. Shortcuts to save money by our not so caring council.
Agree with most of what you say apart from, they have to go round it, its a painted roundabout so therefore you DONOT have to go around it. All vehicles must pass round the central markings unless they are too large to do so which would account for most painted roundabouts on the island so yes cars will/can drive over them, this will of course confuse island drivers even more as they don’t know how to use a roundabout full stop
Looks impressive but cannot help thinking it really needed traffic light operation to avoid any accidents.
That’ll add another 100k to the project just cause people here can’t keep to the rules!
Too many traffic lights on the island already. Not needed if people understand how to use a roundabout.
Wait and see wait and see, only if there are no accidents will it have proved to be worth while
There will be one along shortly !!!!!
Wanna try sorting out by robin hill. Scrap the round about and install traffic lights and at the bottom of the downs towards black water!
All that need at robin hill lights is a flow land to the left and down end a lane made across the grass to make a flow through instead of traffic holding all the traffic up if it’s turning right
Gobbledygook
So this new layout is supposed to improve safety!!! I used it for the first time today and had a very near miss with I assume an ‘Island driver’. As most people here know the vast majority of drivers on the island do not understand even the basics of using a roundabout. It won’t be long before there is an accident on this ‘new and improved’ layout. Sad but true
With so many folk moving to the Island, “Island Drivers” are mostly mainlanders. Sad but true.
Pitchfork in the boot is a reliable indicator.
What absolute rubbish you speak. Having dealt with first hand mainland driving, the island drivers are the worst i have ever encountered and that is speaking from a professional experience and not just your guesswork.
why do you think it was a islander people from noth island are just as bad or even worse and if you dont like it here move
Have been down there today what a waste of 6 months should of just put traffic lights there saved time and money
All that wasted time, taxpayers money and disruption to the public for what? If you add up all the costs to us, the Islanders, of this, the St. Mary’s roundabout that worked and the fiasco that is the floating bridge, just think of the millions that would now be in the Council’s moneypot and what that could have meant to our council tax monthly payments and more deserving projects.
The council know what they are doing here.
By getting the gullible to believe that the reason the roundabout was altered was for public safety INSTEAD of telling us the real reason they can then get us to pay for it instead of their, no doubt very grateful developer associates.
Imagine the public outcry if the council said ‘this costly alteration is necessary so as to allow for the thousands of extra cars vans , lorries and heavy plant equipment coming as we give permission to our grateful pals to destroy this area forever’
Add a few sweetners such as affordable homes, end homeless issues, homes for island families, yet omit words like inner city overspill, lack of jobs, lack of dentistry, doctors, awful traffic delay, and the silent sufferers of wild creatures loss of one of the last beautiful green areas in Ryde.
A smashed up ‘Play park’ may satisfy the chav benefit parents but will never compensate for the lost fields, hedges woods, streams where beauty not ugliness has a few short months of blissful unawareness left.
The UK kindness to newcomers comes at a massive cost yet to be felt.
To big or open area for a “ mini” roundabout like another said should be a raised one or traffic lights
Traffic lights would have done the job / no cost of the six months work has been available (or perhaps I missed it ) Hazzard a guess at 2/3 million /
I thought they were making a proper one in that time !
All this done because of the soon to start development at Pennyfeathers
And don’t forget utility pipes layed for the 904 homes that are going to built!
Of course the roundabout had to be widened, this is to ensure all the delivery lorries delivering building materials for the massive PF development get in safely and all the extra cars from this sprawling estate get in and out, relatively safely!
I dont think moving exsisting utlities 3m constitutes new services being layed for 900 homes.
That is exactly the problem’you’ DONT think.
The distance of moving them 3m is not the point. The point is they HAD to be moved to cross over the road to then be able to be connected up to once the years of noisy building ruination begins.
The issue is the costly alterations were ‘sold’ to a gullible public as done for our safety. Yet as we all know there are far more dangerous junctions on the island IF ‘safety’ was the genuine reason
But it wasn’t. It was to allow for near future huge amounts of extra traffic AND to alter services now to feed such under the road so as to be utilised as the site expands without needing to close the road then. That way we, the tax payers pay for it all, NOT the no doubt vey thankful developers.
Think
I used it today coming down Carters Lane and I have to say the visibility is greatly improved. Before, you could not see around the corner to the right because of all the foliage, whereas now you can see the road properly. Not sure about that slip road coming from the Westridge direction for people turning left at the roundabout though, seems like a potential danger spot.
island drivers take note some arrows have been painted on road to help you
What a waste of our money.