Me wonders if the "switch" can be aligned to the relative numbers of bars/restuarants on each side of the street, with the pedestrian/cycling side put closest to the side with the most number of tables/chairs on the pavement, moving cars away from it, and then maintaining the fantasy that "loading only" spaces for shops are anything other than an obstruction to other motor vehicles.
I think that is the logic, such as it is. At Charlie Sq end, restos are on the north side, at St Andy's it's the south side.
If the cross over junction bit is Fred St, I'm quite relaxed. It's not a particularly busy roundabout. Isn't entry to it from Princes St restricted? And the peds using the zebra crossings slow the traffic nicely.
The main problem with all this is keeping the parking. It's hardly going to be a pleasant place to sip your lattee at a pavement table when the view consists of a car park. Can only hope that shutting the road for the festival helps encourage taking this further.
Can we assume that the bloody city link coaches will be on Queen St in future rather than racing from junction to junction on George St?