Motorists who frequently travel along Sundre's Main Avenue might recently have been left a little confused by conflicting directional arrows at the traffic lights.
Black paint that was used to cover up the old design weathered away quicker than anticipated, causing a clash with the new design.
"What's happened is unacceptable to our standards," said Stuart Richardson, a project engineer with Alberta Transportation.
Attempts to apply black paint over the old design after the first snowfall of the season was a mistake, he told the Round Up last Tuesday, adding efforts to remedy the situation were already underway.
"They're going to grind out the (old) arrows," said Jim Hall, Sundre's operations manager, who discussed the situation with the municipality's engineers as well as Alberta Transportation officials.
Once a contractor has been selected ó which was expected to happen by the end of last week ó a specialized machine was to be brought in to scrape, or grind, the surface of the road to remove rather than mask the former design, said Hall.
Additionally, some of the white delineator posts that were expected to endure sustained punishment and rebound after being struck by larger vehicles have not proven to be as durable as initially planned. Some of the posts are no longer standing back up, and there have been discussions regarding whether they are even required, he said.
"It is a test. If things are failing, we will try a different approach."
But despite the few minor problems to date, a certain tempo seems to be getting established as local drivers adapt to the new design, he said, adding the roundabouts are "smooth flowing, when people use their signals. People are starting to pick up on it a bit more."
Drivers should ideally make sure to reduce their speed to about 20 kilometres per hour upon approaching each intersection, treating the traffic circles as four-way yields, he said.
"That's the perfect world we're looking for."
Additionally, there are many motorists who remain uncertain regarding how to handle the new rights-of-way at the roundabouts, he said.
"You can't get angry with them, just hope they figure it out."
The best way to look at the situation, he said, is to think of a four-way stop.
"If you're there first, it's your go. My 15-year-old daughter can navigate the roundabouts no problem, and she's still learning (to drive)," he said.
Although he has heard of some close calls, the operations manager has to date not been informed of any catastrophic collisions at the roundabouts.
"Defensive driving is what we've all been taught ó be on the lookout for fellow motorists."
Sgt. Jim Lank, the Sundre RCMP detachment's commander, said that while police have not yet initiated an enforcement campaign, he has been keeping an eye on Main Avenue "fairly closely, both on and off duty."
Although traffic has "definitely" slowed down, "people are not yielding properly to traffic at the circles. The big thing is people travelling east or west seem to think they have the right-of-way right through, and they don't."
The sergeant reports having witnessed on several occasions numerous east- or westbound vehicles go right through back to back as another vehicle from a side street remains unable to proceed.
"A notable amount of motorists I'm seeing are not yielding to vehicles on side streets wanting to enter the roundabouts."
Drivers must also yield to any motorist already inside the roundabout, and should two people pull up to a roundabout at the same time, the person on the right gets priority, he said.
As of last week, Lank said he had not heard about any serious crashes.
"From a safety perspective, the roundabouts are certainly slowing traffic down."
However, the situation might get interesting during a long weekend when the volume of traffic through town suddenly surges, potentially causing some backup, he said.
"That remains to be seen."
Local police will likely engage in educational enforcement in the new year, issuing warnings and information at first, he said.
"We definitely aren't looking at going out writing tickets," he said, adding there should first be a period of educational adjustment before citations are issued.
Motorists with questions about safely navigating roundabouts can contact the municipal office at 403-638-3551, the community peace officer at 403-638-4707, or the local RCMP detachment at 403-638-3675.
Alberta Transportation officials are also receptive to input, said Richardson.
"We want to try and fix things as we go along ó it is a trial project," he said, welcoming people to provide feedback by emailing him at [email protected].
The updated lane markings and directional arrows at the traffic lights were anticipated to be done by this week, he said.
Meanwhile, at least one motorist seems favourably optimistic about the situation on Main Avenue.
"Some great improvement on roundabout etiquette," Joanna McKenzie posted on social media last week.
"Thanks to the better drivers who are encouraging the more timid ones to take their turns and maybe encouraging the poorer drivers to respect the yield. You got this, Sundre!"
Yielding
"People are not yielding properly to traffic at the circles. The big thing is people travelling east or west seem to think they have the right of way right through, and they don't." ó Sgt. Jim Lank
