I tried the UK's newest 'Dutch' roundabout - was it really as confusing as some claim?

Yahoo

04-06-2025

It was raining when I took a purple bike and helmet (borrowed from a friend) to the opening of a new £2m, "Dutch-style" roundabout built on an industrial estate in Hemel Hempstead.
I had not ridden a bike since I was about 10 years old, so it was a little daunting to put myself in front of traffic on a new road layout. Cyclists similarly inexperienced might also be feel uncertain by the unfamiliar array of black, green, red and white road markings.
The roundabout is funded by Active Travel England and the basic premise is that cars and lorries must give way to both cyclists and pedestrians - while cyclists must give way to pedestrians.
The layout is markedly different to other roundabouts, which has prompted some criticism they are "confusing". So I had made sure to watch the three-minute CGI explainer video the local council created to help uncertain road users like me.
The video warned me to keep an eye out for oncoming cars, despite having priority on my segregated cycle track.
The roundabout joins three other Dutch-style ones in operation around the UK - in Cambridge, Sheffield and Chichester.
They were first introduced in the Netherlands in the early 1980s and were declared the 'Holy Grail' of traffic safety, according to Dutch News.
The country is famed for its cycling culture and infrastructure and, according to Urban Cycling Institute, invests €595m each year in infrastructure linked to bicycles.
Since then they also become increasingly common in France, especially Paris, and have no headed over to the Channel.
In the UK, council leaders say they will help make life easier for those wanting to cross these roundabouts on foot and on bike, while also helping to manage the speed and flow of traffic.
The previous Conservative government cut England's cycling and walking budget by £380m in March 2023, according to Bike Radar - though the current government now announced a £291m funding package this year to create 300 miles of new footpaths and cycle tracks in a sign of the shifting momentum towards pro-cyclist transport.
Nonetheless - the approach continues to receive a mixed response. In the UK, campaigners have raised concerns over people being confused by the road markings, and who has right of way, with the BBC reporting that Cambridge's Dutch-style roundabout has seen more collisions in the three years since it was built.
And even in the Netherlands, concerns remain about accidents at the supposedly cycle-friendly roundabouts. Road safety advocacy group VVN pointed to research that showed 22.3% of roundabouts in the Netherlands had one or more bicycle accidents, 786 of which were the scene of serious incidents, Dutch News reports.
But what's it like tackling the newly minted version on Boundary in Hertfordshire, some 30 miles north-west of London?
The video warned me to keep an eye out for oncoming cars, despite having priority on my segregated cycle track.
So, how easy is this to follow in practice?
After a few false starts, I was off across the brightly coloured green cycle lane - which made it very easy to see where I was going.
As I made my way onto the roundabout, a man zipping around it on an e-bike did look a little startled by the new configuration and shouted "it's a bit confusing" at me.
The roundabout wasn't too busy when I cycled around it with a few cars and lorries who slowed down when they saw me coming.
There were one or two lorries who put their foot down when they saw me on the approach - probably thinking they had the element of speed on their side to out-race me.
It seemed that many of them were not too sure about the new road lay-out and being cautious of a young woman in high-vis teetering about.
With my own cycle lane, it did feel a bit disorientating to be on the look-out for cars - even though I knew I had priority.
But, with no pedestrians on a zebra crossing, a driver who is not familiar with Dutch-style roundabouts may believe they have a right of way – cyclist or not.
Deciding not to risk it, I was quite wary of how fast I was going while constantly scanning the area ahead.
One of the criticisms in Hemel Hempstead has been the location of the roundabout in an industrial estate not from the M1 turn-off and there didn't seem to be many pedestrians (or cyclists) using the snazzy roundabout when Yahoo News was giving it a test run.
Even for an inexperienced cyclist like me, roundabouts like these that give priority to cyclists can ultimately only be a good thing - it quickly began to feel like second-nature and knowing motorists were slowing down ahead of time helped instil a bit more confidence.
I can only imagine a more experience cyclist will be overjoyed at knowing they have their own designated lane and the traffic stopping especially for them.
But putting one of these roundabouts in a location serving mainly delivery drivers in lorries... well, it does seem like it could have gone elsewhere.
But what do some of the locals we met feel about it?
David Coulson, 65, who regularly drives across the roundabout, told us he "couldn't believe" the cost of the works.
"I wouldn't be surprised if people got killed or injured on it," he said. "I also can't believe they spent this much money. It's right off the M1 - you're not going to get many pushbikes coming off there.
"I drive but I also take a walk up here. I don't see much other footfall than myself," said Coulson, originally from New Zealand. "At least it's colourful."
Finance manager Fred Theron, 52, works close to the new roundabout and cycles to work from Luton in the summer.
He said: "The roundabout before was more dangerous because there are a lot of trucks using the it.
"Cycling, you'd have to be in the road coming from Boundary Way and that wasn't the best. Now it's going to take a bit longer having to the cycle around the whole ring but it will be safer."
Theron said it would take time for motorists to get used to the new road layout, adding: "Here, when I was walking across, there was a truck coming and I wasn't sure if he was going to stop.
"I'm not sure if motorists will know how the cycle aspect works with having to give way. But I do think it's a good initiative and hopefully more people will cycle to work like I do."
Lib Dem councillor Adrian England, said he felt "perfectly safe" testing out the roundabout following its opening on Tuesday.
"With anything new - especially when you're a cyclist and all you've got is your helmet - you need to look after yourself," he said.
Meanwhile Stephen Giles-Medhurst, the executive member for Highways from Herts County Council, said he had a go on a bike and acknowledged it would take "a little bit of getting used to".
"We hope to encourage more people to cycle or walk to their places of employment," Giles-Medhurst said.
"It's safer, as the pedestrian crossings and cycle path go all the way round it. Vehicles are slowing down, maybe because it's new, but I didn't have any near misses. You can't engineer out someone being stupid."Read more
Family pays tribute to cyclist killed in collision by Wiltshire driver (Wiltshire Times)
Scared of cycling in London? Here's how to do it safely (The London Standard)
World Bicycle Day: How Rome is urging more people to ditch their cars and cycle (Euronews)
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