Going Around and Around

A little over 20 years ago I wrote about the merits of roundabouts in the Telegraph Journal in an Opinion Column "The Silent Majority" Apparently the article didn't resonate with the Common Council of the day so I presented the merits of roundabouts again October 30th 2010, that's 13 years ago. I have included the article below.

Roundabouts can work council

Herb Duncan New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal? Sat Oct 30 2010? Page: B6? Section: City?

The concept of roundabouts isn't new, so why don't folks at City Hall "get it?" Long-term costs and safety benefits compared to the traditional signal-controlled intersections provide indisputable evidence. However, it would seem that city officials are circling the wagons to protect and preserve traditional intersections with traffic lights.

The "why" is beyond me. Perhaps the city has shares in a company that sells traffic lights and stop signs. That would be the only reason I can think of for the proliferation of traffic lights and stop signs that have popped up like spring dandelions all over Saint John in the past few years.

Over the last six months, I have been contacted by a number of people who have travelled extensively in Canada and the United States. You guessed it - they keep running into roundabouts in just about every city they visit. After experiencing the ease which with traffic flows, these folks are hard-pressed to understand why Saint Johns decision makers are missing the boat on this one.

This week, Deputy Mayor Stephen Chase brought the subject of roundabouts to the council chamber.

He must have been reading up on its benefits - higher traffic through-put, lower pollution, fewer accidents and dramatically fewer fatalities - because he went so far as to make a motion to refer to the city manager to investigate deploying roundabouts in Saint John. Chase mentioned that Fredericton had just installed its first roundabout. His motion was approved, although councillors Peter McGuire and Bruce Court voted against the motion.

McGuire said he was confused by the motion. In his words, "I'm a little confused of the rationale of this and I certainly don't want to send staff on a chase on something that's coming out of some councillor in Fredericton that probably has about as much sense about roundabouts as I do." Further, he added, "I don't want city staff chasing their tail."

It might be beneficial for city councillors and management personnel to be a little less myopic and look beyond the Saint John city limits. Fredericton's non-descript councillor is Bruce Grandy, chairman of the city's transportation committee. He and Darren Charters, the city's traffic engineer, did exhaustive research on the subject of roundabouts before implementation.

In Saint John's case, there seems to be a reluctance on the city's part to seek out best, or proven, practices deployed in other jurisdictions and apply them where appropriate. Why, I don't know. But I won't approach the following information in a roundabout way: there are currently more than 60,000 roundabouts, or traffic circles, in the world. Today, many traditional intersections in North America are being converted to roundabouts based on the obvious benefits.

And closer to home?

There are already 10 in Atlantic Canada with many more to come - in Halifax, Charlottetown, Moncton, Fredericton, Oromocto and yes, Hampton (Source: Town of Hampton - Roundabout construction at the intersection of Crawford Street, Centennial Road and Main Street. The contract was awarded by town council at its September meeting).

In Saint John, we continue to miss less-expensive and more-efficient opportunities. This year's makeover at Catherwood Street and Fairville Boulevard should have been a roundabout. The recent makeover at Churchill Boulevard and Somerset Street should have been a roundabout, as recommended by ADI Ltd. as part of phase one of its proposal to redevelop Crescent Valley into a mixed-income community.

Rich Shibeb, traffic technician for Hamilton, Ont., says the roundabout installed at Wilson Street West and Meadowbrook Drive in 2005 has significantly reduced accidents, in particular left-turn collisions, as well as eliminating traffic bottlenecks during peak traffic periods. When I asked about the current volume of accidents, I was told they are rare and minor in nature. Based on these results, additional roundabouts have and/or will be built in Hamilton. The Wilson roundabout, which is located just off Highway 403, is designed to handle up to 10,000 vehicles per day.

If city council is going to get serious about roundabouts, it must convert Simms Corner as well. Heck, city buses have been using Simms Corner as a roundabout for years and it works. Just think how much smoother traffic would flow if we were all moving in the same direction?

It's time for Saint John to stop being "different" - stop being antiquated in the way we think. Let's start going in the same direction as the rest of the world. Since knowledge is power, I urge everyone on both sides of the walls at City Hall to learn the real facts and truth about roundabouts. A great starting point is: Roundabouts

. Get informed.

I have taken the time to to do a reprint of the article because when it comes to roundabouts as well as a number of other municipal strategies we are not dealing with rocket science when it comes to best practices for Saint John. This and previous Common Councils have had years to embraced the use roundabouts to create a safer more efficient traffic infrastructure in Saint John.

The "new" and yet another marketing slogan for Saint John recently unveiled is SMALL CITY, BIG HEART . Really? I don't wish to rain on anyone's parade but is that what the oldest incorporated city in Canada has come to? What happened to "Imagine the Possibilities" or "Explore our Past, Discover Your Future" or "Vision 2015"?

For my tax dollars I would have preferred something a little bolder and ambitious like COME GROW WITH US or LEAD, FOLLOW OR GET OUT OF THE WAY? Perhaps it's time to give some other folks a kick at the can as members of Saint John's Common Council? Time will tell.

Think about it.