Traffic Islands??

[Oisin]

I was listening to a Radio 4 programme this morning about dialects and languages and they reckoned that calling road roundabout a traffic Island is unique to Brummies...
Well I'll gew to our 'ouse cos I d'ain't realise that!

 

[Alf]

What do they call Traffic Lights then :?: :multi:

 

[Oisin]

Alf, are you windin' me up? It's only the "island" part that's unique to Brummies, not the "traffic"... There's always one, ain't there?

 

[mikeflan]

It does in fact seem to be a term used by us Midlanders, from about Oxford downwards seems to be the used term 'Roundabouts'...I live in Sussex...BUT HEY LISTEN.......on the Brighton to Worthing road....they have new signs up that advise.....NEW TRAFFIC ISLANDS IN USE SHORTLY............so how about that then ????? maybe some of us midlanders acting as missionaries are getting through to them at last !!!!!

 

[John Young]

Islands unto ourselves

Yo & Cheers for that one MIKEFLAN M8

I was travelling in heavy Traffic "circumventing" this huge Traffic Island on which was a Roundabout that children were playing upon, but as I was hopelessly lost & doubly confused by this sybiosis,,
I went around this twice in a roundabout way thereby making my Mrs feel giddy
so she gave me a clip round about my earhole

Proving "No man can be an Island unto himself" :!:
Especially if the Mrs is near or Roundabout somewhere :wink:

 

[DAVE BRICK]

CAUSING ANNOYANCE

I've always thought that if I wanted to annoy a certain town, I could drive around an island not stop, quite slowly, towing a long trailer. If I picked the right island at a crucial spot, it would cause massive tail backs in all directions.

I bet your thinking, this blokes crazy, well I am sometimes.

 

[Jerry]

When we were kids we all called them roundabouts, I don't know how that got changed to Traffic Islands but I still call them roundabouts so there!

 

[Peter Walker]

Why did the chicken stop in the middle of the road - a story of rhode islands

  Just thinking about what we called those things, even as a nipper in the war I believed a roundabout was a roundabout, while real road islands were usually the little narrow things that came in pairs with a KEEP LEFT or PASS EITHER SIDE sign on them, so that pedestrians could cross the road safely. There were some other road islands shaped like a ghastly kidney coffee table, which were formed to occupy space for no apparent reason at road junctions. There were some larger examples at Victoria Square, Broad Street / Easy Row, Five Ways, and some little ones like those through which the trams drove through willy-nilly against other traffic at Bull Street / Corporation Street. The official motive was to ease the flow of motor traffic, normally without widening roads or knocking down buildings, although the Erdington New Road in 1937 knocked a few houses down.
  These were all products of the 1930s, but during the war far more drastic schemes were being hatched. The Inner Ring Road was the justification for demolishing the heart of Birmingham (I admit I was involved and share in the blame), while underpasses and overpasses resulted in killing off so many inner sububan centres, while 'Redevelopment areas' or so-called slum clearance projects seem to have destroyed the rest if inner Birmingham.
  Sorry to be rather negative, but I think Brum got strangled by its roads.
Peter

 

[RayD]

Don't they have "Roundabouts" at the fair still ???

 

[John Young]

Well RayD buddy as we BARmen must not be "an Island unto ourselves" :coolsmiley:

I feel that i should in a roundabout way agree with a fellow Leaner of the BAR that,,
Yes,,,they still have "Roundabouts" at the Fairgrounds ;D  + glued on coconuts :tickedoff:

 

[Oisin]

I know they have carousels at fair grounds. Apparently there's a difference - one goes round one way, and one the other.

Dunno which is which though.

 

[John Young]

Yo  Sir OISIN of Saint Paulius,,  (Could be worse) Cur Hoses of Saint Pancreas ;D

Yet  again a font of venerable bedemanship,, in a Roundabout way yes also Carousel

The difference is on the Carousel,s there are big chubby jovial Italians selling Candy Floss
and singing just like Caruso,,,,ahah ergo & forsooth,origin of "Merry-go-Round" = Round a Bout,,mmh? mayhap?

Now the Clockwise versus Anti-clock theory,,, Mmh! can only by proven if,, dependant on Wind (Oops pardon :-[)
Which side of your Face the Candy Floss Sticks too,,, Left,,,your going Clock wise & right is Anti but it still Clocks ya :2funny:

 

[John Young]

Ooh G,oo wan,, Give me One more little Karma + :angel: Then I can go to my Room number :idiot2: Ta ever so much

 

[Stuart Brookes]

Oi think yowl foind that a carousel is driven boy an enjinn, whereas a roundabout am driven boy a boy, or mebbe a girl   

 

[John Young]

Oih Stuart me ol mucka Your Spalling is appeelin but I fink you got it roight :angel:
re Perambulatory bi-pedal & /or Engine driven,,,nice one buddy O0

ps you spalt "Girl" wrong on ere,,its Gal or even worserer,, "Wimmin",, not Womam as Woe Man :2funny:

These little faux pas will not besmirch your BARman extrordinaire status,,Sirrah :coolsmiley: Ok ,,John