Posted Jun 12, 2010, 1:59 AM
|
|
Moderator
|
|
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: B3K Halifax, NS
Posts: 9,294
|
|
Middle Sackville to get traffic roundabout
Halifax News Net
By Yvette d’Entremont-The Weekly News
The community of Middle Sackville will be home to a provincial traffic roundabout by the end of this year.
During a Northwest Community Council meeting in April, the province’s senior highway design engineer Keith Boddy shared plans for the Margeson Drive Interchange and Connector with a packed audience gathered at Millwood High School.
“Our plans are coming to fruition. Ramps and the connection to the highway will be done this season,” Boddy told the crowd. “The Interchange to Trunk 1 has to be completed by November. Asphalt has to be down. The (entire) project has to be done before March 31 or we don’t get federal funding.”
Boddy was quick to assure everyone the proposed roundabout bore absolutely no resemblance to the Mic Mac Rotary, but pointed instead to successful and similar models in Avonport and Windsor.
He shared a series of projected images and explained the differences between rotaries and roundabouts. He also noted that statistics demonstrate these kinds of installations are significantly safer than traditional intersection/interchange systems.
“There are seven of these style interchanges going forward (in Nova Scotia) this year,” Boddy explained. “It is seen as one of the safest types of intersections/interchanges in the world.”
The roundabout plan presented to the community is designed so vehicles must yield on entry and proceed when there’s a safe gap.
“If someone blows through a yield, you have a sideswipe or rear end collision. At a slower operating speed, collisions are a lot less severe than getting hit head-on or t-boned at a traditional intersection,” Boddy said.
Vehicles on the Middle Sackville roundabout could expect an estimated delay time of between six and 12 seconds. Boddy suggested that might be welcome in a growing area where traffic delays are notorious.
In addition, the roundabout’s proposed design ensures that it will function for about 20 years. Boddy said the roadway would remain open while under construction, but he didn’t expect traffic delays would be significant.
The roundabout will be located on a Middle Sackville portion of Sackville Drive at Margeson Drive, not far from the Atlantic Gardens property.
Local MLA Mat Whynott said when he first learned about the planned roundabout, he was worried. But he quickly came onboard and believes the majority of local residents also support the project.
“I’ve been out canvassing and informing people on the Sackville side of the riding, and so far 99 per cent have no problems with it as long as the project gets done,” Whynott said last week. “Education around how to use roundabouts is important and is really the key here.”
The vast majority of public speakers with questions after Boddy’s April 22 presentation were in favour of the idea, although some expressed their concerns about getting used to a roundabout.
Whynott said he’s focusing on public awareness and is anxious to see the federal/provincial cost-shared project move ahead.
“The project has to be done by March, and it doesn’t make sense to be putting pavement down in mid January,” he said. “The whole project will be done by December, 2010.”
The Sackville Drive roundabout is a provincial project cost shared with the federal government. However, HRM is also considering the installation of roundabouts at four downtown Halifax sites.
Residents were unhappy with municipal officials who tried last week to explain the rationale behind one proposed roundabout at the corner of Novalea, Duffus and Devonshire streets.
Last month municipal councillors unanimously supported, in principle, the idea of roundabouts in HRM. Regional council will determine whether such projects proceed.
ydentremont@hfxnews.ca
|