§ Mr. Hamlingasked the Minister of Transport, in view of experiments conducted by the Road Research Laboratory Road Research Report for 1967, showing that small circular roundabouts have a traffic capacity up to 50 per cent. greater than that provided by the larger and more costly roundabouts being constructed on Ministry recommendation, if he will issue revised guidance to local authorities in accordance with these findings in order to save public money and increase efficiency in roundabout design and operation.
Mr. Bob BrownThree full-scale experiments with mini-roundabouts are being carried out by the Road Research Laboratory. It is hoped that this series of experiments will prove satisfactory and that the new designs will be tried out at selected sites. Our divisional road engineers have already been asked to consult with local authorities and to select sites at which mini-roundabouts and other new forms of junction can be tried out. The Road Research Laboratory is prepared to give any assistance necessary. It would not be appropriate to issue general recommendations until these trials are complete and until we had examined the full results of them including the safety aspects of the new designs and public reaction to them. So far as we can tell at present, the three tests have 187W shown that where the new design was applied to existing junctions increases in capacity of over 20 per cent. were obtained with a halving of traffic delays.