Magic Roundabout (Swindon)

{{main|Roundabout#Magic roundabout}}

The roundabout was constructed according to the design of Frank Blackmore,{{cite news |date=14 June 2008 |title=Frank Blackmore: traffic engineer and inventor of the mini-roundabout |work=The Times |location=London |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article4131930.ece |accessdate=15 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100524152615/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article4131930.ece |archive-date=24 May 2010}} of the British Transport and Road Research Laboratory. Traffic flow around the inner circle is anticlockwise, and traffic flows in the usual clockwise manner around the five mini-roundabouts on the outer loop.

File:Swindon_magic_roundabout.svg

The complex junction offers multiple paths between feeder roads. The outer circle carries traffic in a clockwise direction, like a normal roundabout (in places where traffic drives on the left side of the road), and less proficient users may choose to use only the outer circle. The inner circle carries traffic in an anticlockwise direction, and more proficient users may choose to use the alternative paths.{{cite web |title=A counterflow roundabout |url=http://www.roundabout.net/DIBcounterflow.html |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140228142003/http://www.roundabout.net/DIBcounterflow.html|work=Driving in Britain|publisher=Rampant Lion Communications|location=Ontario|archivedate=28 February 2014 |quote=Tourists should follow the red path; keep in the Outer Circle all the way round and leave the yellow 'Pro Driver Path' to the locals, who have roundabouts in their blood and know where they are going. |url-status=dead }}

Virtually the same overall configuration has been in place for {{Age|1972|9|30}} years.

When the roundabout complex was first opened, the mini-roundabouts were not permanently marked out and could be reconfigured while the layout was fine-tuned. A police officer was stationed at each mini roundabout during this pilot phase to oversee how drivers coped with the unique arrangement.{{cite web |title=The Magic Roundabout in Swindon |url=https://swindonpost.co.uk/magic-roundabout-swindon/ |website=The Swindon Post |date=11 March 2023}}

The roundabout is built over a section of the old Wilts & Berks Canal—Swindon wharf. A narrow, stone bridge built {{Circa|1810}}, which is a Grade II listed building,{{cite web |title=Canal Bridge, 300m north-east of the County, or Magic Roundabout |publisher=Historic England |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1355880 |accessdate=27 November 2006}} carried the old Saxon way known as Drove Road over the canal half a mile (800 m) east of the town centre. Its site became covered by Drove Roundabout, which was later redeveloped as the Magic Roundabout. A wharf occupied one edge and the area was known as the Marsh. The Wilts & Berks Canal Trust are currently in negotiations with Swindon Council to include in the New Swindon Regeneration Framework plans to restore the canal through the town centre. The restoration would use the route of the North Wilts Canal and not the main West Vale route that the Magic Roundabout sits over. The North Wilts Canal was a separate branch which exited the town northwards through Moredon.

Image:Magic RoundaboutP db.jpg

A calendar is produced each year by the UK Roundabout Appreciation Society depicting the town's finest examples. The official name of the roundabout was originally County Islands, but it was changed in the early 1980s to match its popular name after a campaign by Councillor David Glaholm.{{cite web |title=Six of the world’s most unusual roads |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zx8t9ty |website=BBC Bitesize |access-date=14 April 2025}}

In 2005, it was voted the worst roundabout in a survey of the general public by a UK insurance company.{{cite web|url=http://www.easier.com/view/News/Motoring/article-33515.html|title=Brits vote on the best and worst roundabouts|date=20 December 2005|accessdate=18 January 2008|work=Easier.com}} In September 2007, the Magic Roundabout was named as one of the world's worst junctions by a UK motoring magazine.{{cite web|last=Disdale|first=James|url=http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/autoexpressnews/210607/worlds_worst_junctions.html|title=World's worst junctions|date=3 September 2007|work=Auto Express|accessdate=22 June 2018}} In December 2007, BBC News reported a survey identifying The Magic Roundabout as one of the "10 Scariest Junctions in the United Kingdom";{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7140892.stm|title=London road junction 'scariest'|date=12 December 2007|accessdate=22 June 2018|publisher=BBC News}} however, the roundabout provides a better throughput of traffic than other designs and has an excellent safety record, since traffic moves too slowly to do serious damage in the event of a collision.{{cite web |url=http://www.cbrd.co.uk/articles/the-magic-roundabout/ |title=The Magic Roundabout|work=Chris's British Road Directory|date=n.d.|accessdate=14 September 2016}}

The roundabout in Drove Road is not the only one in Swindon that worked on the same principle; until recently, the roundabout at Bruce Street Bridges had a similar layout, but had only four entry/exit points. It was converted into a conventional roundabout in 2016.{{cite web|url=http://www.swindon.gov.uk/info/20031/roads_parking_and_transport/499/great_western_way_highway_improvements/2|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819093136/http://www.swindon.gov.uk/info/20031/roads_parking_and_transport/499/great_western_way_highway_improvements/2|archive-date=19 August 2016|title=Great Western Way highway improvements|publisher=Swindon City Council}}

• Denham Roundabout
• Magic Roundabout (Colchester)
• Magic Roundabout (Hemel Hempstead)
• Magic Roundabout (High Wycombe)

{{reflist}}

{{Commons and category|Magic Roundabout|Magic Roundabout, Swindon}}

• [https://www.roads.org.uk/articles/the-magic-roundabout/ The Magic Roundabout] at roads.org.uk.
• [http://www.bbc.co.uk/wiltshire/content/articles/2005/11/22/pwaod_roundabout_feature.shtml BBC Wiltshire] Video: 1972 Points
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20220815013844/https://magicroundabout.com/ Magic Roundabout Show] Web Site for the TV Show Magic Roundabout
• [http://www.bbc.co.uk/wiltshire/content/articles/2008/03/28/swindon_magic_roundabout_2008_feature.shtml BBC Wiltshire] History of the Magic Roundabout
• [http://www.swindonweb.com/index.asp?m=8&s=115&ss=289&t=THE+MAGIC+ROUNDABOUT Magic Roundabout], Swindon Web
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20140228142003/http://www.roundabout.net/DIBcounterflow.html The Magic Roundabout at Swindon]
• [http://www.gpsdrawing.com/gallery/land/magic_roundabout.htm GPS Drawing tour around Magic Roundabout]
• [https://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&ll=51.562865,-1.771371&spn=0.000859,0.002843&t=h&z=19 Google Maps satellite image view]

Category:1972 establishments in England

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Category:Road junctions in England

Category:Transport in Swindon