In the past two weeks or so, discussion has begun on a proposed change to a key intersection in Orléans. The proposal: to convert the intersection with Jeanne d’Arc and St. Joseph boulevards from a standard four-way into a roundabout or traffic circle.
The concept apparently began with the Heart of Orléans BIA in 2008, and since then has garnered civic, provincial and federal support by way of the recent stimulus funds organized by the latter two levels of government. Accounts vary as to the expected cost for the interchange, from $1.8 to 2.5 million. Arguments using safety, beautification, and promoting local business within the St. Joseph Boulevard corridor have been raised in defence of the plan. The BIA’s point of view about the project be found here.
We’ve seen full-blown support from Heart of Orléans BIA executive director Peter Stewart, qualified support from Orléans Star columnist Walter Robinson, and outright opposition from retired U of Ottawa geography professor Barry Wellar.
There’s also been some discussion on the Ottawa Citizen website of the issue of roundabouts as a traffic control device in general, and opinion from Ottawa Citizen columnist David Reevely who had very little good to say about his pedestrian’s experience of this roundabout in Alta Vista.
There are currently seven such interchanges scattered across the city, and City Hall deems them sufficiently important to grant them their own subsection under the “Traffic” heading on their website. One in particular has some prominence due to its placement at Sussex and Rockcliffe, on the doorsteps of the Prime Minister and Governor-General’s official residences. Several are supposedly specifically designed to allow for pedestrians to cross with a degree of assurance for their own safety.
But as someone who uses a lot of shoe-leather to get around, I have to wonder if this specific intersection will actually be any safer to cross after it’s been switched over to the new format. Might it even be less so, as Reevely’s Alta Vista example would suggest? Having walked along much of the length of St. Joseph for job hunting, shopping, health-related errands, and simple exploration, I admit to a certain skepticism. I have a comfort level with things as they are.
On January 14th, there will be an open house at the Bob McQuarrie/Orléans Recreational Centre on Youville and Jeanne d’Arc to discuss this plan in some detail. The Centre is a few minutes on foot from the intersection in question.
Surprisingly, this public meeting scheduled to discuss the future of this vital piece of infrastructure has yet to be publicized by the relevant city department. Orléans Ward Councillor Bob Monette has been working to remedy this via his own office, else we might not know of it at all.
A cynic might suggest that the city staff in question view the roundabout as a done deal, with enough powerful buy-in already on the table to see it breeze through the consultation unchallenged. More likely, it may simply be the case that the staff might simply be unable to keep up with the workload in front of them, regardless of their willingness to do so.
Whether the lapse in communication is by design or by accident, the end result may be the same: an ill-informed public unable to bring what may be useful information of their own to the table to improve the process and the result.
3 comments
Not a fan of the idea, to be honest. I think Wellar’s right: this is the wrong solution for the wrong problem.
Having lived in England for a while, I can say that “roundabouts” (the British term, as “traffic circle” is never used there) can be much safer and sometimes more efficient (for cars, not people) than conventional intersections. However, their design is *not* foolproof; I have seen some terrible implementations in England — notably in Bristol, but elsewhere as well, I suspect. Given this City’s track record of traffic implementation, I’m hoping they are well-advised, or there will be a big fiasco.
They can be safer for pedestrians too. The biggest advantage generally (including for pedestrians) is that traffic in a roundabout must be slower than cars on a straight road; a roundabout forces traffic to slow down and drivers to watch where they are going. They may prove to be the best deterrent available against teenage racers and other forms of stupid driving. They also can do this without the need for traffic lights, though the roundabout still will need regular lighting.
Personally, I think whoever wrote the advice to the pedestrian that Wellar was reading did not think out his or her task logically. There is *no*reason* why the message had to be so long, nor should phrases like “splitter island” have been used. Just remember two points (both expressed in N. American terms):
1. If you are on the *right* side of the road, watch for traffic trying to *enter* the roundabout from the side you are on.
2. If you are on the *left* side of the road, watch for traffic trying to *leave* the roundabout from the side you are on.
The second point is trickier than it sounds. If you are crossing an intersecting road from left-to-right, the traffic in the roundabout will be going in the *same* direction as you are. Just as you are advised to walk on the left side of the road when no sidewalk is available, you would have to look over your shoulder to detect traffic trying to leave the roundabout. A well-placed mirror (on the opposite side of the road) may prove useful, but it had better be screened or tilted so it doesn’t catch the sun on a winter’s morning or evening.
The effect of roundabouts on pedestrian traffic is an important question I hadn’t thought of… I expect there are good solutions as traffic circles are common in Europe. I much prefer them to traffic lights – much more efficient and less wasteful in terms of fuel use.
One thing though: the round-about on Colonel By is ridiculous because it reverses the right-of-way rules that are integral to functioning of a round-about: those in the circle have the right of way. At Colonel By, those in the circle have to wait for new cars entering; it jams it up and renders it useless. I hope new round-abouts won’t follow this example.