The answer is basically "yes, but that's a good thing". It slows drivers down and makes them pay attention, which makes things safer.

The easiest way to simplify them from what they are now would be to ban cars from them entirely. Otherwise no, they’re vastly improved from what they used to be.

Absolutely and it's an "necessary evil" for the purpose of maintaining a car-centric transportation model. The method doesn't scale without that complexity to facilitate the increase of traffic demands.

There is no real solution to it other than to move away from personal vehicles being the primary method of transportation.

totally , check out this one. https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Fvplwvjho7jw81.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=1daceedf488d025d41edc41f326aeac2cbfb578e41918c6a4fc609a23db9aa4a

fucking ridiculous, I can't believe the council allows it.

Good gosh yes.

I was driving on a long trip and pulled off into a small town untouched by vision zero chaos. Things were simple, clearly marked, and cars, pedestrians, and bicyclists were all following rules and predictable. It was easy for everyone to understand. I felt anxiety melt away and I could focus on being safe rather than avoiding obstacles. It was like I was using a different part of my brain. It's what I remember driving was decades ago and felt so, so much safer than waves of chaos and flashy distractions I encounter now.

Yeah, our gut reaction is to add more rules or signs. There are logical dots to connect there. But increased complexity increases difficulty for eveyone too.