Traffic Lights

What is it with traffic lights these days? Back in the 70's and 80's lots of them were replaced by roundabouts because they improved traffic flow and were almost maintenance free. Enter the new century and suddenly new traffic lights are sprouting up all over the place, like the weeds in my lawn.

And why replace a roundabout with traffic lights when you can keep the roundabout and add four sets of lights to each one, thus ensuring that you can stop every vehicle at least once as they navigate the junction. This is completely senseless. And why is it that where they do have some purpose to aid traffic flow during peak times, the dammed things are left to run 24 hours a day?

Traffic lights use electricity, need maintaining and ensure that for most (if not all) of the time vehicles going through the junction are polluting the planet more than they would be if a roundabout was used instead. Perhaps with "climate change" all the rage now perhaps councils will have a change of heart and start ripping them out (again).

Of course this isn't going to happen any time soon: It simply wouldn't support the governments congestion charging roadmap....