What’s with all the double roundabouts in Cornwall? Everywhere that a single roundabout would do, they seem to prefer to put two mini roundabouts instead. Sometimes I can see why they are needed because the roads used to meet at 2 T junctions, but a lot of the time, a single, larger roundabout would have done the job. In some cases it clearly used to before they changed the road. Maybe they work better, but they are confusing until you get used to them.
The proposed Heathrow airport third has a lot of campaigns against it, but not many seem to be pointing out the alternative options available, concentrating instead on things like it won’t be necessary as people fly less when oil prices rise and greenhouse gases get curbed. These arguments fall down if biofuel or hydrogen powered jet engines come in. (Hydrogen powered jet engines were around and flying in the late 1980s, but seem to have disappeared since).
The best plan I have seen would be to link all major London airports by MagLev, using the TransRapid technology as developed in Germany and deployed in Shanghai. This would be about half the cost of the third runway, yet deliver huge extra benefits by creating a virtual “super airport” with 5 runways and 9 terminals. It would also provide benefits to the environment because rather than drive to the airport your flight leaves from, you could drive to the nearest airport and transfer in less than 25 minutes (worst case).
Another possibility I heard mentioned a few years ago when this issue came up, is to use Northolt as a sort of relief runway for Heathrow. Certain flights or Airlines could be moved there, and transferring passengers could take a short bus ride between the two airports.
Better than a bus would be an extension to the ULTra PRT system that is currently being installed between Terminal 5 and some car parks. If successful, the plan is to extend it to other parts of the Airport and surrounding infrastructure. An extension to Northolt would be a journey time of around 20 minutes. Because the vehicles are automated and individual, vehicles could keep land-side and air-side passengers separate, and special vehicles could be run to carry just luggage as an extension to terminal baggage systems. Stops could be added in Hillingdon, Hayes, West Drayton and Uxbridge for locals to use, which would be a popular means of transport, reducing car, bus and taxi journeys and should reduce NIMBY-type objections to the project being built.
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