They may not have the final say, but Wellington North council has made it clear they don’t favour a roundabout as a solution to traffic headaches on Frederick Street in Arthur.
A roundabout is being considered to improve traffic flow at the intersection of Wellington Road 14 and Frederick, Domville and Eliza streets, as part of a $2.7-million rebuild of Frederick Street planned by Wellington County.
However, the proposal met with considerable opposition from citizens at a March 18 public meeting.
“We did ask the public for input and the public has spoken fairly decisively,” said councillor Andy Lennox at the April 7 council meeting.
“I believe we need to listen to the public and I will not be supporting proceeding with a roundabout.”
Councillor Sherry Burke agreed, saying, “It seems clear that residents don’t support the roundabout so, for the record, I don’t support the roundabout.”
Noting many young children use the streets around the intersection, Mayor Ray Tout stated, “pedestrian safety, in my opinion, has got to be number one.”
Councillor Mark Goetz also opposed the roundabout. His suggestion that a pedestrian crosswalk at the corner of Isabella and Frederick streets could divert some of the pedestrian traffic from the Frederick, Domville and Eliza intersection received support from the rest of council.
Council added support for the pedestrian crosswalk proposal to a resolution recommending the reconstruction project “should not proceed with a roundabout at the intersection of Frederick, Eliza, Gordon and Domville Streets as an option.”
The resolution also states the township encourages the county and Triton Engineering “to give full consideration of pedestrian safety during the final design phase of the project.”
