City of Thunder Bay roundabout conceptual plan for Edward Street & Redwood Avenue (City Council agenda)
Away we go…. Round 2….or 3…. or maybe 4…. of Roundabout discussions at City Hall tonight.
I’ve said this before, and i’ll say it again to save the hate mail. I have nothing against roundabouts, and this is NOT a “not in my backyard” situation. There’s more to it than that.
There are a couple of angles to consider around tonight’s debate at City Council. Your councilors are going to decide whether or not to add the roundabout at Edward and Redwood to the 2021 budget. That’s what’s on the agenda. But there’s more to it, and this is one of those times that I’m not sure your council thinks we remember things.
First – the arguments FOR the round about…..
Better Traffic Flow. they’re safer, and less long term costs.
Let’s break it down. I’m not an engineer – nor am I a traffic specialist. But i have used that intersection for all but 2 years of my life.
- Better Traffic Flow. For who? I’m sure engineering has considered these things – but I’m not sure how this is going to serve the multitude of school buses that go through that intersection. There 4 schools within a couple of blocks. There is a ton of traffic in the rush hours through that intersection. There are TWELEVE lanes of traffic that need to use that roundabout. And – its Thunder Bay’s first. (Besides the mini roundabout at the Marina). Why are we experimenting with THIS intersection, with THIS much traffic, with THIS many school buses?
- Turf Facility. Let’s consider that this intersection will get significantly busier when the turf facility is built. That intersection is the ONLY access to it.
- Safer? There have been 16 accidents at that intersection in 10 years. Is that a lot? Will it be safer for those walking across a round about where no one stops? What about the pedestrians? There are a lot accessing the two drug stores on that corner and access to the active transportation trails in Chapples park. Is crossing that intersection going to be safer?
- Long Term Costs. This one is my favourite. Apparently traffic lights are expensive – long term. Remember that discussion at council about Victoria avenue? And the thought of building a round about to remove the lights at Lilly Street? Those were good times. The roundabout didnt happen and the lights were removed as a pilot. Today – the traffic flow on Victoria Avenue is much better. The lights were removed. BUT! In their wisdom, council decided to put a NEW set of traffic lights on Arthur Street – litterally 2 blocks away from the lights they took down to “save costs” long term. Does this even make sense?
- Speaking of costs… The cost for the round about its $1,150,000.00….. the cost to replace the intersection is $1,125,000.00. So – the roundabout is 25,000 dollars more expensive. I realize its not a lot in the grand scheme of things – but it is more. And, well, we’ve been known to over spend with this term of council. Is the extra $25,000.00 worth the risk to teach a new trick to Thunder Bay drivers.
Again, I’m not against roundabouts. I like the roundabout at the marina! Sometimes i make two trips around it because it’s fun. (no i don’t). But this to me should be an easy decision. It’s a busy intersection, its the wrong intersection to teach Thunder Bay Drivers how to use a roundabout, it’s $25,000.00 more expensive – and the impacts of the turf facility have to be considered.
This feels like one of those ‘legacy’ projects we don’t need. We’ve got one of those already going up there. It’ll cost us about $50 million when its done. This is not the place nor the time for an experiment. Keep it simple. Put the lights back so that pedestrians can cross, we can save 25k, and we can handle the increased traffic from the turf.
That’s just my two cents….
~John
