Local motorist Matt Best says many of Griffith’s roundabouts are impossible to navigate with larger cars.
THE "worst roundabout in Griffith" is about to get a radical redesign after council conceded it was near-impossible to navigate correctly.
The Ulong and Railway Street roundabout, labelled "unworkable" by a local councillor and "the worst roundabout in Griffith" by one of the city's most experienced taxi drivers, has infuriated drivers since it was built in 2010.
Its two-lane entry and exit on Ulong Street do not correspond with the one-lane access on Railway and Olympic Streets; and the size of the not-so-circular structure makes it almost impossible to stay in the correct lane when turning right.
In the past two years, there have been a number of collisions and countless near-misses at the intersection.
Police, however, have only fined one driver for using the roundabout incorrectly.
Council has started on designs to rebuild the $375,000 roundabout and convert all entry and exit points to one lane.
Motorist Matthew Best said the roundabout was one of several around Griffith that were difficult to navigate, a surprising oversight for an intentionally circular city.
"The roundabout is quite small for an average-sized vehicle but for those of us that have utes, it's just about impossible to get around," Mr Best said.
"I would say 30 to 40 per cent of cars around town would be utes or bigger and would overhang the narrow lanes, which counts as crossing into it.
"It'll definitely be good if they can redesign it to accommodate the growing number of larger cars, which is the trend here and overseas."
Councillor Doug Curran said the RMS (formerly RTA) had forced council to create the roundabout despite council believing it was "poorly designed".
"To be in the left hand lane approaching the roundabout and stay in it to go through the lights is just about impossible; the whole thing is unworkable," Cr Curran said.
Traffic at the intersection is expected to increase when a planned retail and accommodation development on Railway Street is complete.
In the immediate future, it will be a carriageway for heavy vehicles while the development is being constructed.
Taxi driver Ian Favero said the roundabout was a hazard when approaching the city from Wakaden Street because drivers often tried to overtake from the left lane.
"You have to look twice to make sure no one's coming at you from the left - it's the worst roundabout in Griffith and it's bloody dangerous," Mr Favero said.
"It's so narrow that sometimes you accidentally veer off to the left so I am in total agreement that they should make it one lane."
