Editing Roundabout (section)

=== "Magic" roundabouts/ring junctions ===
{{anchor|"Magic" roundabouts|Magic roundabout|ring junction}}
"Magic roundabouts" direct traffic in both directions around the central island. They are officially known as "ring junctions". The [[Magic Roundabout (Swindon)|first magic roundabout]] was constructed in 1972 in [[Swindon]], Wiltshire, United Kingdom, designed by [[Frank Blackmore]],<ref name="timesonline1">{{cite news |title=Frank Blackmore: traffic engineer and inventor of the mini-roundabout |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article4131930.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100524152615/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article4131930.ece |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 May 2010 |work=The Times |date=14 June 2008 |access-date=15 June 2008 |location=London}}</ref> inventor of the mini-roundabout. The roundabout joins five roads and consists of a two-way road around the central island, with five mini-roundabouts meeting the incoming roads.<ref>{{Citation |title=Swindon's Magic Roundabout from the air |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kafx_GGHqVg |language=en |access-date=23 March 2022}}</ref>

The name derives from the popular children's television series, ''[[The Magic Roundabout]]'', and is considered "magic" because traffic flows in both clockwise and anticlockwise directions. This is achieved by surrounding the main island with one smaller roundabout per entry/exit street. This pattern directs traffic in the usual clockwise (in [[Left- and right-hand traffic|LHT]] installations) or counter-clockwise (in [[Left- and right-hand traffic|RHT]] installations) manner around each mini-roundabout. Exiting the mini-roundabouts, traffic may proceed around the central island either in the usual direction (via the outer loop), or in the inverse direction (the inner loop). The arrangement offers multiple paths between feeder roads. Drivers typically choose the shorter, most fluid route. Although the safety record is good,{{cn|date=September 2024}} many drivers find this system intimidating, and some drivers go to great lengths to avoid them.<ref>[http://www.easier.com/view/News/Motoring/article-33515.html Brits vote on the best and worst roundabouts], Easier.com. 20 December 2005, retrieved 18 January 2008</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-news/29798/world-s-worst-junctions|title=World's worst junctions revealed|website=Auto Express}}</ref><ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7140892.stm 10 Scariest Junctions in the UK], BBC, 27 November 2009.</ref>

Similar systems are found in the [[Magic Roundabout (Hemel Hempstead)|Moor End roundabout]] in [[Hemel Hempstead]] (Hertfordshire), which has six intersections; in [[Magic Roundabout (High Wycombe)|High Wycombe]] (Buckinghamshire),<ref>{{google maps|url=https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.6268496,-0.7505916,18.67z|title=High Wycombe}}</ref> the [[Denham Roundabout]] in [[Denham, Buckinghamshire|Denham]] (Buckinghamshire), the [[Magic Roundabout (Colchester)|Greenstead Roundabout]] in [[Colchester]] (Essex), "[[The Egg (roundabout)|The Egg]]" in [[Tamworth, Staffordshire#The Egg Roundabout|Tamworth]] (Staffordshire) and the [[Hatton Cross]] Roundabout in London.<ref>{{google maps|url=http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?ll=51.467877,-0.423285&spn=0.003068,0.00392 |title=Hatton Cross}}</ref>

[[Churchbridge Junction]] in [[Staffordshire]] is a magic gyratory. This type of junction is similar to a magic roundabout, except that the constituent roundabouts are connected by longer lengths of roadway.<ref name="sabre_magic">{{cite web|title=SABRE: Magic Gyratory|url=http://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/wiki/index.php?title=Magic_Gyratory|access-date=8 November 2013|date=8 November 2013}}</ref>

<gallery widths="200px" heights="150px" class="center">
Magic Roundabout Schild db.jpg|The [[Magic Roundabout (Swindon)|Swindon Magic Roundabout]]
Swindon_magic_roundabout.svg|Map with traffic direction and two routes from Fleming Way to Queen's Drive
</gallery>