'Roundabout city' could get 'hamburger' style island

A city famous for its many roundabouts could be turning one of them into a so-called "hamburger" style island.

Milton Keynes City Council is looking at ways to deal with capacity issues on its road network, which is said to include at least 130 roundabouts.

One option put forward for consultation is a split "hamburger" roundabout, which has a road running through the centre of the island.

The council said the Monkston and Brinklow roundabouts, which sit next to Kingston shopping centre, needed upgrading to improve "the overall network on the east of the city".

The proposal for Brinklow is to add signals and tweak the flow of traffic, but the Monkston roundabout could see a more complicated system introduced.

The council said the hamburger "through-about" design was "considered to be efficient and lower cost" than enlarging the Monkston roundabout.

Signals would also be used to help drivers navigate the new system.

"Milton Keynes' roundabouts were initially designed without any traffic signals, but increasing vehicle numbers led to the introduction of traffic signals for better traffic flow management," a document detailing the plans stated.

It added that Monkston and Brinklow were "the two 'missing pieces' in terms of addressing capacity issues on the J13-J14 corridor".

People can view the plans and make comments online.

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