A MINI roundabout has been re-arranged by Essex County Council because of the number of crashes involving cyclists and vehicles, the authority has said.

The roundabout which connects Ipswich Road with East Street formerly allowed two lanes of traffic to queue on the eastbound carriageway to Ipswich Road.

One lane would allow traffic to turn left onto Ipswich Road, and a second lane would allow traffic to proceed straight on along East Street towards Harwich Road.

Gazette: Before – when two lanes were used at the East Hill roundaboutBefore – when two lanes were used at the East Hill roundabout (Image: Google Street View)

But Essex Highways has since repainted the lines on the eastbound approach to the roundabout because of the number of crashes which have involved cyclists on the route.

A spokesman for Essex Highways said: “Several collisions involving cyclists and left-turning vehicles have occurred in this location.

“As a result of assessments of the lanes approaching the mini roundabout, the road layout has been changed to a single lane to try and prevent further collisions from happening.”

Gazette: After – the new road layout put in place by Essex HighwaysAfter – the new road layout put in place by Essex Highways (Image: Daniel Rees, Newsquest)

The re-arrangement of the roundabout comes two years after the Ipswich Road roundabout was completed, and one year after East Street – which was statistically Colchester’s most potholed road – was completely resurfaced by the highways authority.