Editor's note: This story has been updated to include more comments from city coucil.
MOOSE JAW — Thatcher Drive East is a gateway into Moose Jaw, and to ensure that area remains safe, a roundabout may be required at the Ninth Avenue Northeast intersection to handle traffic flows better.
Installing a roundabout there is one of many traffic-related enhancement suggestions in the new transportation master plan (TMP), which city council received during its June 24 regular meeting.
Bruce Belmore and Destiny Piper, with consulting firm KGS Group, gave a comprehensive overview of the new TMP since their firm worked with city hall to develop the document — which was last updated in 2012.
Round and round we go
A traffic forecast indicates that, because of an expected increase in vehicle volume in the future, additional measures will be required at Thatcher Drive East and Ninth Avenue Northeast to ensure safe operations, Piper said.
Since this location is a gateway into the community, the TMP recommends that the city install a roundabout there since it organizes traffic, reduces lanes, improves safety for pedestrians and motorists and keeps traffic moving day and night, she added.
When asked how a roundabout at that intersection would improve pedestrian safety, Belmore replied that there is already a pathway on the north side of Thatcher Drive that crosses where a roundabout would go.
“I’m not sure if someone had set it up this way originally, but it actually lines up almost exactly where you would do it,” he remarked.
KGS Group looked at the entry and exit angles of a roundabout to control traffic speeds, while proper crossing markings are already established for a “splitter island” to facilitate pedestrians, Belmore continued.
Roundabouts are becoming more common in major cities across Canada and even on highways, although they don’t function like an interchange, he pointed out. Meanwhile, KGS thought this type of traffic enhancement would be a good solution for this location since it’s an entrance into Moose Jaw and near tourist spots and important fast-food restaurants.
“It works differently than traffic signals. It also works better for the surrounding businesses, particularly to the south, where traffic signals would cause back-ups (of vehicles) across their entrance,” Belmore added.
Mayor Clive Tolley said he “really liked the idea of roundabouts” because they work well in the United Kingdom, a country with very few traffic lights. He noted that Moose Jaw had a roundabout at Fourth Avenue Northwest and Saskatchewan Street, but the city removed it.
“… much to my chagrin, I think we should be adding them,” he added.
Coun. Crystal Froese expressed concern about the roundabout and pedestrian safety, pointing out that Thatcher Drive is a wide road to walk across. With a four-way stop, traffic halts for pedestrians, whereas vehicles don’t stop at a roundabout. Therefore, she wondered whether lights would be required.
“It’s interesting to me because we’re adding another set of lights down (Thatcher to access Hillcrest Golf Course), but this is a really busy intersection (and) we wouldn’t consider adding lights to this intersection,” she added.
There are yield signs on all approaches to a roundabout, so vehicles can be forced to stop for pedestrians, but there will not be any traffic signals or stop signs, said Belmore. Furthermore, roundabouts are a better option because motorists don’t have to stop at red lights at night.
Also, traffic signals are not necessarily safer because motorists will still drive through them at high speeds, while roundabouts slow down people and have a “perfect collision modification record of reducing almost 100 per cent of the collision at an intersection,” he continued.
“For many reasons, it’s a better solution,” Belmore added.
Coun. Jamey Logan agreed with the roundabout, although he thought it was important for future councils to set aside enough land so the city could install the traffic enhancement structure.
Council later voted unanimously to accept the new TMP.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, July 8.
