rsdunlop - I'm trying to work out how this pinch point might work as a crossing and I think it fair to say that there might not be many good examples.
I am not a driver but would have thought a pelican would cause less of a hold up then a pinch point, which operates 24/7.

These lights are not red very long, but it seems people are against them as they do not like being told what to do, especially when a mere pedestrian appears to have control.
And drivers like chicanes as they see them as a challenge to their driving skill.
That's the way people are I guess.

The example you gave is a strange one - no-one is going to be speeding approaching or leaving a mini-roundabout. And no-one is going to have too much trouble crossing the road in that leafy neighbourhood to justify anything more than an island.
I am familiar with Kings Hall Road further along and it does get a fair bit of fast through traffic. It just seems a bit odd to me that they put the traffic calming at the start of the road. It seems to be there to deter through traffic more than anything else.