Martel Maxwell slams Swallow Roundabout chaos in Dundee

The Courier

02-05-2025

It's not a topic I ever thought I'd write nearly 800 words about.
New traffic lights at a roundabout? No thank you.
And yet here we are and here we must be, for the Swallow Roundabout system is a debacle with consequences affecting our city and its people on a giant scale.
A traffic light system installed by developer Springfield to ease potential congestion caused by the construction of hundreds of new homes at Dykes of Gray, is causing chaos.
At the less serious end of the spectrum, it affects people like me every day – those who come into Dundee via the roundabout.
When asked how long it takes me to get into the city centre, I used to say around 20 minutes.
Now, with traffic queued to Longforgan from just after 8am, the school run feels like 20 hours.
No one wants to be at a near standstill as three boys argue about who has the biggest head, while battering each other with a pencil case.
But commuters' problems are the least of it.
The Swallow Roundabout is the gateway to Dundee – and was once a free-flowing circle (as Dundonians uniquely call it) with Riverside to the right and the Kingsway straight ahead.
Your biggest quandary was whether to take the scenic coastal route or multiple roundabouts if you were going to the Ferry.
Today you are faced with missing that school bell, running late for a meeting, a coffee, a wedding – possibly your own.
And such things are trivial when compared to the ambulance racing to get to Ninewells on time, carrying someone whose very life depends on getting to A&E.
Suddenly, the issue is not minor and mildly annoying – but potentially life-threatening.
You just have to hope the traffic parts for the blue light and siren.
This is not a luxury, however, a hearse driver has and if you're coming from the Perth direction into Dundee, there's every chance you could be late for your own funeral.
Springfield insists the new system was not designed to speed up traffic flow.
But at what point in their application, signed off by Transport Scotland and our local authority, did it say queues would increase from a few minutes to 15 minutes for everyone entering Dundee from Perth?
You're not going to make our Loganair flights loop the loop before landing at Dundee Airport.
And you're not going to ask train drivers to play 'I Spy' with passengers as they wait on the Tay Rail Bridge before approaching Dundee.
Why is enforcing a queue on drivers entering Dundee any less ridiculous?
More than 1,000 drivers have lodged complaints about the delays and the confusion over road markings and signs.
It has been said the problem lies with the amount of time lights are showing red for incoming A90 traffic.
I'm no traffic engineer or planner but can we make that red light time shorter?
And let's not be fobbed off with clipboards and suits saying it's far more complicated than that, because the alternative – where we are stuck with this colossal timing mistake for good – is not acceptable.
Dundee has excelled in recent years at showcasing itself, making our city attractive to visitors, many who have never been before.
South of Dundee live the vast majority of Scotland's 5.5 million population.
And south of Scotland live England's 57.7m people.
That's a lot of prospective tourists to attract. If they come by car, there's only one way their sat nav would take them (unless they detour via Fife first) and that's via the A90 and the Swallow Roundabout.
Their journey has been long – and in some cases a whole day.
And just when they are approaching Dundee…there's a queue to get in.
The children need a wee, while the parents can't wait for a celebratory cold drink.
But you will have to wait and wait.
It's hardly the welcome-with-open-arms vibe you'd hope our council is aiming for.
And when they tell their pals they loved Dundee but the traffic to get in was annoying, the response will be: 'Oh us too. Maybe it's always like that.'
Lorry drivers, spending days on the road, will stop for breaks and agree with fellow drivers that Dundee is becoming a pain.
Everyone accepts the Dykes of Gray housing development required a traffic system to allow for safety and for its residents to access the roundabout without huge queues.
But not at the expense of the many more people coming into the city who now find themselves on hold before being allowed in.