Wellington County will incorporate a single-lane roundabout into a rebuild of Wellington Road 14 (Frederick Street) in Arthur, despite the objection of Wellington North Mayor Andy Lennox and past concerns expressed by village residents.
The roundabout is listed as a $400,000 intersection improvement in the 2015 Wellington County budget, which was passed on Jan. 29 by county council.
Lennox requested that the item be dealt with separately and detailed his objections to the project.
“There’s no question the intersection is an odd configuration and less than ideal from a safety perspective,” said Lennox, adding he is not opposed to roundabouts in general.
“I think they serve very well when they do not have significant pedestrian traffic around them,” he explained, noting the intersection of Wellington Road 14 and Frederick, Domville and Eliza streets contains “the greatest amount of child pedestrian traffic in the whole village.”
The intersection, he pointed out, is located near two schools, as well as the community’s arena, ball diamonds and swimming pool.
“To date I have not seen evidence that would support the contention that pedestrian safety would be enhanced” by a roundabout, Lennox continued.
He also noted 43 per cent of those who registered at a public meeting in Arthur last year submitted comments and 92% of the comments were in opposition to the roundabout
“I believe the public’s voice deserves to be heard … heaven forbid something tragic should happen at this intersection,” said Lennox.
Stating that “public meetings are not a referendum,” councillor Gary Williamson, chair of the roads committee, said that of 134 registrants at the public meeting, 69 objected to the roundabout, “which is 51% not 92.” He also stated that of those 69, 42 respondents referenced the use of Wells Street as an alternative route “due to information being spread prior to the meeting.”
Williamson said use of Wells Street, “has never been put on the table by the county.”
Williams continued, “now were down to 37 people that voted against it … if you look at the population in the area – probably 1,000 people in the immediate area and about 3,500 who would be impacted – that’s 1% of local residents.
“We have very competent staff here at the county … they are not going to bring forward a recommendation if they have not done all the background.
“Over next 50 years … traffic and pedestrian volume in that area are only going to increase,” Williamson said, adding, “a roundabout seems to be the best option.”
Councillor Kelly Linton said, “After listening to councillor Lennox I am concerned when we push ahead with a project if the people in the area aren’t in support.”
While stating he was not at the public meeting on the project, councillor Doug Breen said “within a public meeting room momentum can start to go one way or another and it can degenerate quite quickly into a useless exercise.” However, he added, “I’m not suggesting this is what happened here.”
On roundabouts, Breen said “quite frankly I’ve seen them work very well, particularly in places where there’s a lot of pedestrian traffic.”
Councillor Lynda White, an Arthur resident, said, “I believe the biggest issue at that intersection is pedestrian safety and I believe our staff is not going to suggest something there that will endanger pedestrian safety … I believe it’s probably the safest thing for that intersection. They (roundabouts) slow the traffic down.”
Williams stressed the proposed roundabout would be a single-lane structure, “not a multi-lane roundabout, which I agree has some issues.”
Councillor Neil Driscoll said, “This isn’t the City of Toronto. This is a northern municipality that has a lot of large traffic go through that intersection. I want to make sure all the options have been looked at.”
Councillor Chris White asked, “how’s the intersection working now and what are the alternatives?”
Williamson noted the safety concerns were originally raised by Wellington North council.
County engineer Gord Ough said, “because of the odd alignment of streets coming onto it, that intersection doesn’t lend itself to putting up traffic signals, which would typically be an option. The roundabout really was the only option to address the current concerns at that intersection.”
“I really would hesitate to leave that corner the way it is. It’s dangerous … I know a roundabout isn’t perfect, but it’s better than what’s there now,” said Lynda White.
Lennox said, “I think, with the concerns that were expressed to me directly … I’m not prepared to substitute one set of safety issues for another.”
Williamson concluded the issue “comes down to” whether council is “prepared to support staff in their investigation into the safety issues.”
The decision to proceed with the roundabout was approved by council, with councillors Lennox, Driscoll, Linton, Shawn Watters and Alan Alls opposed.
