Council votes to move ahead with roundabouts
Posted May 11, 2010 02:01:42 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
City Council voted in principle in favour of four proposed roundabouts in Halifax Tuesday.
Improving safety was a key point of this afternoon’s staff briefing. Twenty-eight per cent of fatalities and 40 per cent of serious injuries in car accidents in Canada happen at intersections. City staffers claim roundabouts reduce those numbers by about two-thirds.
Wait times during rush hours are also improved by roundabouts. Staff told council the wait at the Willow Tree is up to 4.5 minutes. With a roundabout, the wait at that same intersection would be cut to a mere 15 seconds.
Councillors had several concerns including the cost of replacing the intersections with roundabouts in light of the city’s financial situation. There was also worry smoother traffic flows would see fewer people using public transit.
But in the end, council voted in principle in favour of roundabouts. Planning will now begin on the potential sites, but before a project proceeds it must get council’s approval. It could be a year or two before the project is given the rubber stamp.
Staff targeted the intersections at North Park and Agricola, North Park and Cogswell, the Willow Tree and where Devonshire meets Duffus Street in North End Halifax.
