The Roads of Britain

Some of the things that constantly remind you that you're not in America are the roads and the signs that go along with them.  Some are the same with different language.  For example, the yield sign is the same, but instead says "give way."

The other thing that England is famous for is roundabouts!  It is one of the key parts of their driving system.  There are huge roundabouts, but also some that are symbolic, with just a painted circle to remind you of what it is.

In a fairly flat city like Cambridge, there is a plethora of bikes.  There are probably as many bikes as cars, and they work pretty well together.  It also means there is a big need for bike parking places.

And at the Railroad station, they even have double decker bike parking!

 

When they want to slow traffic down, one of the ways is to make bottlenecks that narrow the road to one lane--with a hump.

But they have a system to help people to take turns going through.  They have signs letting people know which side has the primary right of way.

And if they really want to limit access, they have this nifty way of limiting roads to allow only buses and taxis to go through.  They have "rising bollards" which retract for the right kinds of vehicles, but absolutely keep others from sneaking through.

They also have zebra crossings, striped areas, where pedestrians have the right of way.

And we ran across this sign, which helps drivers be reminded a little more about needing to slow down for pedestrians.

The other complication is the placement of street signs.  Sometimes they are fairly clear like this one.

Other times they are high up on the side of a building.

It's always an adventure to find the street you're looking for!

And along the streets, you can see the classic British phone boxes and the round red mailboxes.

And some phone boxes have been ingeniously re-purposed, like this one that is now a defibrillator!

What fun to learn new ways of looking at life--and the roads that take you through it!!