I usually try to visit my family in Ontario once a year. On this year’s trip both on the way there and back I was reminder by how effective and efficient traffic circles can be.
Circles from the one entering Ancaster (Hamilton) that safely processes 2500 cars per hour to the rather tiny traffic circle coming into Calais that effectively handles everything from a Mini Minor to a monster tractor trailer.
It’s becoming nearly impossible to go anywhere with running into, I mean around a traffic circle. Charlottetown, Oromonto, Moncton, Halifax , Hampton and the list goes on.
Do you suppose since we have a new Council and a change in “some levels” of City Management there is a possibility that before they pack me up and send me to the crematorium we will have a traffic circle in Saint John?
Could it be that previous management within municipal operation had an inversion to traffic circles, perhaps they were worried that once people entered they wouldn’t know how to get out or that circles simply made them dizzy?
Saint John’s youngest Mayor ever and recipient of the Order of Canada Eric Teed, regretfully no longer with us, knew something about traffic circles. His vision was to have one at Simms Corner.
Eric had insight and a common sense approach. He noted some years ago that Saint Johners used traffic circles at Haymarket Squareand the Reversing Falls Bridge many years ago. A few years ago he said the city should try an experiment with sandbags to see if a circle could work. I would have to agree with him, hell the buses already use Simms, Corner as a traffic circle.
At the time Commissioner Paul Groody said the idea had already been presented to him the previous year at a meeting with the West Side Business Association and that staff was “studying” it.
He said he wasn’t convinced either way if a traffic circle or lights were the best option. But then again it was the same municipal operations that over five years ago said that the traffic patterns at the corner of Prince William and King were too complex to be solved by a simple stop sign at Prince William. For your own benefit check with Saint John traffic an see how many accidents have occurred at King and Prince William over the past five years.
City Hall in the past seemed to have spent a lot of time “studying situations” at what point do we actually make a decision and get on with it? With literally hundreds of traffic circles being installed year after year all over North America based on accumulated statically data showing reduced accidents and improved throughput it would seen, as the expression goes, is a no brainer to do the same in Saint John.
There’s a new captain at the helm of the good ship Saint John and a fresh crew on board. My opinion is, as it was over a year ago is that, Simms Corner should be converted to a traffic circle – the “Eric Teed Rotary” – in appreciation and recognition for a lifetime of service to Saint John.
It’s the very least that we can do for one of Saint John’s most forward thinking, accomplished and dedicated citizens. What do you think folks?
I visited England earlier this year. Traffic lights are very seldom used. Traffic circles are used in every available situation. From tiny ones, double tiny ones & huge ones with lots of entry/exits.
They work beautifully and with huge traffic numbers. Of course they would work here at most intersections where lights are now used.