Try getting across Elgin on any afternoon and it’s a pretty safe bet you’ll hit a bottleneck somewhere along the way – usually at one of the many roundabouts.
It doesn’t seem to matter if you’re going east to west along the A96 Aberdeen to Inverness road or north to south from Bishopmill to New Elgin.
Whatever way you go in Elgin, you’re almost certain to run into a queue of traffic waiting at a roundabout.
And regardless of the day or time, it’s a pretty safe assumption that all of the junctions would move smoother if we all used our indicators correctly.
With an incredibly 10 roundabouts in just two miles of the A96 in Elgin, as well as others across the town, there are plenty to choose from.
We’ve picked, in no particular order, what we think are the worst five though. Let us know in the comments section and our poll if you agree, or if you think we’ve missed the biggest culprit.
1. Laichmoray confusion
Let’s start with the Moss Street and Maisondieu Road junction, otherwise better known at the Laichmoray due to the hotel on the corner.
Outside of the A96, this roundabout is undoubtedly the biggest bottleneck in Elgin in the afternoons.
It isn’t unusual for traffic to be backed up all the way up the hill past UHI Moray during the school run or about 5pm.
What doesn’t help is the usual inconsistent use of indicators from traffic coming off the railway bridge adding to hesitation and confusion.
At one point Moray Council considered making Moss Street one-way, meaning traffic could turn off the roundabout on to it but couldn’t join it.
However, the local authority faced the embarrassing situation of handing back £160,000 to housing developers after running out of time to use it on the project.
What do you think is the worst roundabout in Elgin? Let us know in the comments section below.
We’ll never know whether that could have made a difference, but at the very least it would have reduced the traffic using the junction.
Throw in the repeated flooding issues from heavy rain, and it’s a strong start to our quest of finding the worst roundabouts in Elgin.
2. Joining the A96 at Dr Gray’s
The roundabout at the foot of Dr Gray’s, next to the very pretty cherry blossom trees, is one of two halves.
On one side is the A96 carrying all the Aberdeen to Inverness traffic.
On the other is Pluscarden Road and South Street, both carrying a reasonable amount of local traffic.
Throw in a little bit of a blind spot from a tree when you’re joining the roundabout from South Street and it can be tricky to squeeze in amongst A96 HGVs on occasion.
Meanwhile, Pluscarden Road traffic has the added dimension of having to wait for a break in both the A96 and South Street traffic to get on with their journey.
The addition of traffic lights on the A96 to make it safer to get to Dr Gray’s for pedestrians can also lead to vehicles backing up on to the junction on occasion.
It’s busy, but does that mean it’s the worst?
3. Edgar Road congestion
Now it’s time for the other half of the terrible twins of Elgin roundabouts.
Because while the Laichmoray and Edgar Road junctions can be annoying individually, they’re undoubtedly worse together.
It isn’t uncommon to hit traffic at the New Elgin post office, only to discover it’s actually backed up at Laichmoray, over the railway bridge and well past Edgar Road.
A mix of signals doesn’t help either. It’s the right lane for straight on from Doocot Park and Edgar Road, but for the other two it’s the left lane.
It’s led to more than a few near misses when traffic is joining the railway bridge.
Maybe drivers get a bit distracted reading about whose birthday it is, or checking to see if there’s any update to the wedding proposal from last year?
4. Constant changes at KFC
The KFC roundabout on the A96 did work reasonably well, but then they decided to change it.
What was initially a reasonably straightforward junction suddenly became a lot more confusing in September last year.
Granted, leaving up the signs showing the old layout after it had changed probably didn’t help.
But the new markings that required drivers to gradually move to the outside as they moved round didn’t go down well either.
It was changed in the summer back to roughly what it was before with some minor alterations to the lanes.
Traffic lights have also come into operation on the approach into Elgin from Lhanbryde in recent weeks.
Has changing the KFC roundabout back to close to what it was spared it from being Elgin’s worst? Have your say in the comments section below.
5. Supermarket traffic at Tesco
There is one thing about the Tesco roundabout that has earned it a place on this shortlist.
When you’re leaving the supermarket and joining the A96 heading towards Inverness, it’s not always entirely clear what lane to be in.
The signage leaving the car park says the right lane, but if you’re wanting to continue up past the Mansefield and UHI Moray then that can require a prompt change of lane before you get to the roundabout at the west end of the High Street.
Slotting in can be difficult if an impatient driver from the east end of the A96 decides to move at the same time.
Meanwhile, finding a good view of oncoming traffic from the Haugh Road turnoff leading to Moray Leisure Centre can also be problematic.
The notorious Elgin roundabout that was fixed
We can’t let a rundown of what are currently the worst roundabouts in Elgin pass without paying tribute to what was undoubtedly the biggest traffic headache.
Every time you arrived at the South Street junction outside the Mansefield hotel you seemed to be met with cars from every other direction.
Drivers behind each of the wheels looking at each other asking ‘Who’s going first?’
It’s been six years since the painted white circle that posed as a roundabout was scrubbed off with traffic lights installed in its place.
The new layout may not be perfect, but it’s certainly an improvement on what was there before.
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