I love roundabouts.
Anyone who has lived in a place full of them, with, and hereโs the caveat, people who know how to use them, know just how efficient they really are. No electricity. No waiting at red lights. No unnecessary stopping. You just give way to people coming from your right, it really is that simple.
To be fair though, I come from a city of roundabouts. A LOT of roundabouts! Theyโre everywhere! Iโve even heard Lower Hutt City has the highest number of roundabouts per capita in the world!
Granted, that was my Grandad talking. And although he was a local politician, there probably is at least some truth to what he was saying.
I mean, take a look for yourself.
Here is a map of central Lower Hutt City.
And here are all the roundabouts! (That I can remember)
For a city of around 100,000, thatโs quite a lot,
Wouldnโt you agree?
However, I currently find myself living in Sakata City in the Japanese countryside. Once home to the richest family in Japan, this city also coincidentally has about 100,000 people living in it. Well, less now, as the local newspaper likes to reminds us.
But still.
Sakata City loves traffic lights. Theyโre everywhere! And not just in downtown Sakata either. Way out in the wop wops too!
Countless times Iโd be at a traffic light in the middle of the rice fields not a single person in sight tapping my thumbs against the steering wheel in anger while staring up in anticipation at the traffic light longing for it to change so I can get on with my life.
Longing for it to change,
into a roundabout.
Theyโre so efficient, havenโt you heard.
And you know what?
I kind of got my wish.
Kind of.
One thing about New Zealand that surprises people is how locals define a city. Youโd think it would be population-based, or at least tied to economic significance. But no. What really matters is whether you have a traffic light or not.
Thatโs the threshold.
Up until then, itโs all just swings and roundabouts.
Up until then, you canโt say youโve made it in New Zealand.
They donโt call it small town for nothing!
Which, in case you hadnโt realised, means removing a traffic light is kind of a big deal.
And thatโs exactly whatโs happening in Sakata City.
Recently, due to lack of traffic or something, they removed four sets of traffic lights. Four!
And the worst thing is, these werenโt the lights way out in the wop wops I was complaining about earlier. These were central Sakata City lights.
Iโm talking downtown Sakata.
Can you believe it?
You see, a couple of years back, Sakata City lost its only department store, and with it, a whole lot of traffic. Granted, if you ever stepped foot in Shimizuya you would notice your foot at an angle and would know then and there the store wasnโt long for this world6.
But still.
Shimizuya holds a special place in the hearts of many a Sakatan. However, if theyโre going to start removing traffic lights, you would think they would start with the ones that donโt even have roads leading to them?
Here and here, for example.
Just like Japanese words that have more Kanji than sounds, think buna ๅฑฑๆฏๆฌ for beech tree, shime ไธไบไธ (7-5-3) the rope used to cordon off sacred areas, or any old dude whose name ends with –uemon ๅฎๅณ่ก้, there are three-way intersections with four sets of traffic lights.
One on top of a bridge!
Which I guess just means Japanese traffic lights come in sets of two or four (or five).
But still.
Those are the lights we should be getting rid of first. Not the ones in central Sakata.
And when you eventually do get rid of them, do you know what we should replace them with?
(Roundabouts. Itโs roundabouts.)
Which they are actually trying to do!
After 3.11, they saw the sense in having roundabouts, seeing as, like I mentioned, roundabouts donโt require electricity, nor a police officer to control them during blackouts. With places that only have so much traffic and a bit of space, such as cities around 100,000, roundabouts are a great idea.
Well, there isย oneย caveat.
People donโt know how to use them!
A little education is in order. And you know what that requires?
A practice roundabout out in the wop wops!
Like this one.
Yay!
Now the next time Iโm waiting in the middle of the rice fields not a single person in sight, I donโt have to tap my thumbs against the steering wheel in anger anticipating a green light.
Well, not here at least.
Sakata is an interesting place.
Itโs why I live here. Donโt believe me? Read about how this place became the namesake of some rice crackers in Australia here, how it became home to the richest family in Japan here, or, ahem, what it feels like to live in a dying city here.
Oh, and also,
Yamagata officially kept its crown as Japanโs number one consumer of Ramen noodles. If thatโs not a reason to visit (or live here for 15 years), I donโt know what is!