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In many cases in the UK, you see a roundabout with simply a small white dot painted in the centre, as opposed to a physical middle. Functionally, a cone or a little flasher in the middle of most intersections, with the appropriate arrows, would work fine for small intersections.

Like other road markings, something painted on the road is useless when covered in snow. In Ontario, an intersection without a physical circle would be called a slalom!
 
Like other road markings, something painted on the road is useless when covered in snow. In Ontario, an intersection without a physical circle would be called a slalom!

I'm guessing the locals call it a snow-covered roundabout.

bracknell-england-march-snow-covered-roundabout-surrounded-dirty-melted-slush-front-modern-apartment-block-111130503.jpg
 
Example of painted roundabout in England:


Only the one direction has a median at the entry point.
 
I LOVE roundabouts and wish we had so many more in Canada and specfically in the GTA. Always pisses me off to go outside of Toronto into newer developments where there's a complete blank slate for city planners to build roundabouts everywhere and yet they STILL build intersections with lights even in low traffic areas where roundabouts would be much more efficient and environmentally friendly.

And within the GTA in older parts of the city, it also annoys me to no end to wait at a light forever even when there's barely any traffic going the othe way. I swear if planners could even set traffic light timings properly to favor high traffic roads and give them more priority over low traffic roads, that alone would dramatically cut down on the amount of traffic jams that we see daily in the GTA.
 
If we are talking stop signs, almost their main purpose in Toronto is to inconvenience drivers so that they stay on the main roads instead of going through subdivisions. I am not sure what they do in other countries in this regard.
Not sure how pedestrians feel about round-abouts, as they require much more walking. We know in Toronto pedestrians will cross mid-block to avoid walking to a nearby intersection. What type of walking patterns could we expect to see here - would pedestrians walk into the middle of the circle to take the shortest route possible.
It's similar to the entrance ramps to highways - they are not labelled as full crosswalks, so there is uncertainty as to whether the pedestrian has the right of way over the car.
 
If we are talking stop signs, almost their main purpose in Toronto is to inconvenience drivers so that they stay on the main roads instead of going through subdivisions. I am not sure what they do in other countries in this regard.
Not sure how pedestrians feel about round-abouts, as they require much more walking. We know in Toronto pedestrians will cross mid-block to avoid walking to a nearby intersection. What type of walking patterns could we expect to see here - would pedestrians walk into the middle of the circle to take the shortest route possible.
It's similar to the entrance ramps to highways - they are not labelled as full crosswalks, so there is uncertainty as to whether the pedestrian has the right of way over the car.

In Europe, especially France, they use the YIELD sign more often.
 
I LOVE roundabouts and wish we had so many more in Canada and specfically in the GTA. Always pisses me off to go outside of Toronto into newer developments where there's a complete blank slate for city planners to build roundabouts everywhere and yet they STILL build intersections with lights even in low traffic areas where roundabouts would be much more efficient and environmentally friendly.

And within the GTA in older parts of the city, it also annoys me to no end to wait at a light forever even when there's barely any traffic going the othe way. I swear if planners could even set traffic light timings properly to favor high traffic roads and give them more priority over low traffic roads, that alone would dramatically cut down on the amount of traffic jams that we see daily in the GTA.
The high traffic road should have a flashing amber, and the minor road a flashing red. The signals revert to normal operation if pedestrian signal's been requested, or if a long queue beings to form on the minor road.
 
The high traffic road should have a flashing amber, and the minor road a flashing red. The signals revert to normal operation if pedestrian signal's been requested, or if a long queue beings to form on the minor road.

The is the default logic-failure mode for traffic signals and, as far as I'm concerned, one of the most dangerous created configurations. Ninety percent of motorists will stop at a signal on flashing amber, and those facing the flashing red assume the 'minor-amber' direction will stop as well, so it becomes a de facto 4-way stop - except for those who act properly. We have one nearby that defaults to flashing amber/red on a regular basis and I avoid it like the plague, especially if I'm on my bike.
If full signal control is not needed or the logic has had a brain fart, they should default to all-red flashing.

The only worse situation is complete signal failure, which too many motorists treat as a through intersection.
 
The is the default logic-failure mode for traffic signals and, as far as I'm concerned, one of the most dangerous created configurations. Ninety percent of motorists will stop at a signal on flashing amber, and those facing the flashing red assume the 'minor-amber' direction will stop as well, so it becomes a de facto 4-way stop - except for those who act properly. We have one nearby that defaults to flashing amber/red on a regular basis and I avoid it like the plague, especially if I'm on my bike.
If full signal control is not needed or the logic has had a brain fart, they should default to all-red flashing.

The only worse situation is complete signal failure, which too many motorists treat as a through intersection.
You may have a point on the flashing amber, but flashing red is the equivalent of a stop sign, and unless there's another stop sign with an "all way" tab, it's just a plan stop, priority to the cross road.
The main idea is to default to green for the main road, and flashing red (a stop sign) for the side street, during low traffic hours. A single vehicle doesn't need 30 seconds to get onto the main road.
 
You may have a point on the flashing amber, but flashing red is the equivalent of a stop sign, and unless there's another stop sign with an "all way" tab, it's just a plan stop, priority to the cross road.
The main idea is to default to green for the main road, and flashing red (a stop sign) for the side street, during low traffic hours. A single vehicle doesn't need 30 seconds to get onto the main road.

Perhaps. I don't know if current signal logic allows for that. Some municipalities default some signals to 'main route priority' during certain hours, but that requires sensors on the secondary route.
 

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