All available evidence indicates there has been a drastic improvement along Main Avenue since the trial mini roundabouts were deployed last fall, and we're pleased to report that traffic has on average slowed down without any significant crashes resulting from the new design.
Sgt. Jim Lank presented council with a police report during the April 9 meeting, when he was asked for an update on the situation and if any statistics were available in terms of problems such as collisions, as well as whether there would at some point in the near future be a visible proactive police presence enforcing the new design's regulations.
Over the past roughly six months, there have barely been a couple of minor incidents, he said.
“I’ve seen a big improvement. When the circles first came out, it was terrible.”
However, education remains a key focus, he stressed.
“We want to make sure people actually have a clear understanding of how to properly negotiate these roundabouts before just writing out violation tickets.”
We certainly think that's only fair.
But if an officer witnesses a flagrant infraction such as a failure to slow down as a vehicle blows recklessly through the intersection, the driver could be written up a citation, Lank said, adding motorist attitudes also play a big part — we could not agree more.
Essentially, the confusion surrounding the mini roundabouts still largely stems from the right-of-way — and more precisely, just exactly who has it.
“To clarify, the term ‘right-of-way’ just refers to who has the legal ‘right’ to proceed. For example, at a four-way stop, the vehicle that arrives first has right-of-way, regardless of what direction they arrive from or where they’re going. It does not mean that vehicles ‘on the right’ always have precedence,” said Alberta Transportation in a statement.
If two vehicles slowly approach at roughly the same time an empty roundabout — there are no drivers already inside the circle — the motorist on the right can indeed proceed without stopping as the other follows along right behind, maintaining a flow of traffic.
However, the situation changes if, for example, there is a large westbound semi-trailer already navigating through one of the roundabouts when two other vehicles approach — let us for argument’s sake say one is following behind the rig and the other is attempting to head west from a side street.
The driver following the big rig may, provided of course there are no pedestrians crossing and the circle is clear, proceed behind the semi-trailer while the motorist who wants to turn westbound must continue yielding until there is an opening.
Perhaps in simpler terms, a motorist has the legal right-of-way to proceed as soon as the roundabout is clear or once there is a sufficiently sized gap in traffic to safely proceed through the intersection.
Yet whatever the scenario, motorists must nevertheless always slow down at each intersection with a roundabout and be prepared to, if needed, stop for pedestrians or any other vehicle that arrives in the circle first. No "ifs," "ands" or "buts."
Alberta Transportation’s website clearly states, “Roundabouts require motorist to yield on entry, don’t allow lane changes, have reduced speeds, have high capacity and have fewer collisions.”
We would at this point like to offer a friendly reminder that slowing down traffic was among the project’s key objectives. So by that measure alone, the design is a resounding success.
Also noteworthy is that while the roundabouts have not resulted in any major accidents, there have during the same period of time since they were installed been several serious collisions involving both vehicles and even pedestrians at the traffic lights.
Coincidence? We think not. Looks as though these roundabouts really aren’t so bad after all, especially if we all proceed calmly and courteously.
— Ducatel is the Round Up’s editor
