There has been an outpouring of love and frustration over Elgin’s 10 A96 roundabouts after the Press and Journal asked if the town was Scotland’s roundabout capital.
Despite it being the express Aberdeen to Inverness road, motorists go in circles roughly every 300 yards in the Moray town.
Throw in five, soon to be seven, sets of traffic lights and it can be slow going through Elgin at times.
Not all motorists are downbeat about the roundabouts though, many have praised them for keeping the vehicles moving as much as possible.
However, others have criticised the sequences of junctions as being confusing.
The Press and Journal has been looking at the best of the social media reaction. Have your say in the comments section below.
‘Roundabouts are better than traffic lights’
Many Elgin motorists have looked elsewhere to find cause to celebrate the town’s A96 roundabouts. Specifically, they’ve looked 22 miles west to Nairn.
Drivers have praised the system in Moray’s biggest town as more free-flowing than the traffic lights in their Highland neighbours.
Neil Lyle posted: “Still moves a lot better than Nairn, and that’s only two roundabouts.”
Dorothy Barclay simply wrote: “Nairn is worse!”
Stuart Davidson wrote: “Better than traffic lights. My hometown near Manchester has 16 sets of traffic lights in 1.5 miles. 25 sets in four miles to get to a motorway.”
However, Carol Allan sounded a warning about the upcoming two new traffic lights to be installed on the A96 in Elgin.
She posted: “Just wait until the new traffic lights at a couple more of these roundabouts get up and running. It’s gonna be sooooo much fun.”
Are Elgin’s roundabouts confusing?
The biggest criticism for Elgin’s A96 roundabouts is the lack of consistency on them from one to the other.
While some require drivers to be in the left lane to continue on the A96, others need motorists to be in the right lane.
The change from one to the other caused days of confusion at the KFC roundabout last year.
Jayne MacDonald posted: “There’s not one single roundabout in Elgin with the same markings at all. And the state of some of the roads is an absolute disgrace.”
Jenni Coelho replied: “Different rules at every one and every approach. Anyone not local doesn’t stand a chance.
“Not just because of this, but because of all the folk that just barrel onto the roundabout.”
Pat Garrow wrote: “Still dizzy going round them twice to Inverness. The Elgin folk have their own unique method of tackling them.”
‘A96 needs an upgrade’
If and when the A96 is dualled, all of Elgin’s roundabouts will be bypassed with a new road to the south of the town.
Many on social media say the upgrade is badly needed to cope with increasing traffic in the area.
Omar Choudhury wrote: “It’s a shambles through the day. I don’t understand why they don’t build a bypass for Elgin and Nairn, but they built one for Fochabers.”
Mark Leighton posted: “If you said to someone from another country it can take three hours to get between two major cities only 100 miles apart they would find it hard to believe you.
“It’s a joke of a road and should be dualled as a priority.”
Mike Gray wrote: “This is one of the reasons I cut off the A96 at Huntly when travelling to Alness.
“Although mileage-wise it is longer, it is usually much quicker than the A96 and a more attractive route.”
Is Elgin Scotland’s roundabout capital?
Maybe, maybe not. As with most things, it depends on the eye of the beholder.
Our readers nominated several other contenders across Scotland for the title.
Dundee, Glenrothes, Ayr and Cumbernauld all got mentions. However, East Kilbride got the most mentions from all those who commented on the original story.
The Lanarkshire town is nicknamed Polo Mint City by some due to it reportedly having more than 600 roundabouts.
While the town, Scotland’s sixth largest community though it is, can certainly claim to have more roundabouts its credentials to be an official city are undoubtedly lacking compared to Elgin.
Read more about Elgin
- Is Elgin a long-established historic city or a large town? We try to clear up the confusion
- How much did he cost, why was he installed, what’s with the design? Everything you need to know about Dandy Lion
- Elgin High Street pedestrianisation: The death of the town centre or the beginning of a shining new era?
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