Strouden: so many green lights, but nothing to go

Image: © Chris Downer Taken: 16 Jul 2009

Mallard Road Roundabout is very busy during the daytime, being on the important Castle Lane West and at one of the two accesses to Castlepoint shopping centre. The myriad traffic lights keep things moving as much as possible – when sat at a red light, it seems odd that nothing is crossing your path, but of course the lane has to be kept clear for anything wishing to turn right across your path even if nothing does; otherwise, anything held up on the roundabout itself would soon cause a complete logjam. However, at night, the sequence continues even if traffic levels are light. Here we see no fewer than eleven green lights shining in favour of eastbound traffic on Castle Lane – plus a twelfth, far left, at a pedestrian crossing in Yeomans Road and some distant ones at another crossing. But there is no traffic to take advantage of the signal to proceed. Meanwhile, westbound traffic waits on red for the nothing to pass.

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