The £2.3m UK roundabout forced to close a week after it opened

A major new roundabout that cost over £2million to build was forced to close just days after it opened. A revolutionary Dutch-style roundabout in Cambridge had to temporarily close days after it was installed back in 2020.

The new roundabout was the first of its kind on UK soil when it opened on Fendon Road, Cambridge. The Dutch-style route is designed specifically to give priority to cyclists and pedestrians instead of vehicles, with a range of junctions and zebra crossings. However, the new roundabout was hit with a temporary road closure just days after the launch after a hit-and-run driver crashed into a zebra crossing beacon.

Soon after its launch, the new roundabout was mired in controversy after residents suggested the new system was possibly dangerous. Between 2020 and 2023, data showed that the Dutch-style roundabout had been the scene of 10 collisions.

In comparison, there had been just six minor incidents on the old roundabout layout between 2017 and 2019, before the changes came into effect. The roundabout has also undergone multiple road safety audits since its installation.

Neville Silverston, a retired GP, claimed he had seen motorists forced to emergency stops and getting into rear-end collisions.

He told the BBC: "I don't think the design has any safety features for the people it was intended to be safe for. It's a very busy roundabout and motorists use it at quite high speed.

"It's too much for even an experienced driver to take in, with cyclists and pedestrians coming from left and right, and vehicles from the right."

Ken Riley, another older resident living nearby, stressed e-scooters had become an issue with riders darting across junctions.

He added: "They approach this roundabout at full speed and they go straight on to the cycle track; motorists don't have time to look around before they whizz across in front of them or behind them."

Since Cambridge, Dutch-style roundabouts have since popped up in towns and cities across the UK, with at least four now in operation. The second roundabout was fitted in Sheffield in 2024, before a third was installed in Chichester and a fourth in Hemel Hempstead.