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Town to host lesson on how to drive in a roundabout by Nathan Howes Special to the Beaver 3 | Thursday, October 17, 2013 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com The Town of Oakville wants to point motorists in the right direction when it comes to driving through a roundabout. On Saturday, the Town will host a public information session at 2 p.m. at Great Lakes Boulevard and Timeless Drive -- the site of a roundabout that is of concern for some. Ward 1 Town Councillor Ralph Robinson said he's heard "gentle concerns" from residents over the years regarding roundabouts. "I'm not totally convinced they don't know what they're doing. I think they're doing it a little differently than the people who are complaining about it. It boils down to being careful, going slow and giving everyone else the right-of-way," said Robinson. "If everybody gives everyone else the right-of-way, roundabouts work perfectly." The veteran councillor said the roundabout at Great Lakes Boulevard and Timeless Drive is a mini version of the typical circular intersection and the Town is using it as a "test case" to determine if more should be built. "I think this is the first mini-roundabout we built. This was done to reduce the speeding on Great Lakes (Boulevard), which it has done," said Robinson. Drivers who have difficulties navigating a roundabout may have a "lack of thought" upon This is the traffic roundabout on Kestell Boulevard and North Ridge Trail in northeast Oakville. A miniature version of the road type was built in southwest Oakville -- at Great Lakes Boulevard and Timeless Drive -- to curb speeding but has raised the ire of some residents. | Oakville Beaver file photo entering or exiting it, Robinson said, adding that caution, carefulness and courtesy are key to proper use. "Everybody who is in a roundabout has priority over the people who are entering it. Everyone has to be thoughtful of everybody else who's trying to get in," said Robinson. "If somebody doesn't pay enough attention to who's entering or exiting, it will cause problems." Dan Cozzi, director of engineering and construction for the Town of Oakville, said roundabouts are becoming more prevalent in Ontario A personal message from and are easier to implement when building a road from scratch. There are seven roundabouts and/or traffic circles in Oakville. "This particular roundabout was retrofitted into the existing right-of-way on Great Lakes Boulevard. If you were to build what we call a conventional roundabout, you need a lot more space in the right-of-way to fit it in," said Cozzi. "If we were to fit in a normal size roundabout, we would have to take land from people and that's not an easy thing to do." Prior to installing the miniature-roundabout, Cozzi said the average speed of motorists travelling through the intersection was 63 kilometres per hour for southbound drivers and 57 km/h for those heading north. The numbers were based on speed surveys conducted by the Town in 2012. A follow-up survey taken after the installation determined speeds decreased in both directions. The average speed of vehicles in the roundabout dropped to 40 km/h and 33 km/h in the southbound and northbound directions, respectively. "The overall reduction in speed in both directions was in the range of 23-24 km/h. However, it seems the southbound direction is still somewhat higher than the northbound direction," said Cozzi. "That was just basically with how the exit alignment was established in the roundabout." Cozzi noted the Town considers the Great Lakes Boulevard and Timeless Drive miniatureroundabout a success from a "traffic-calming point-of-view." "Since we built it, we've modified the pavement marking arrangement at the southbound exit. We're going to go back in the autumn and do another speed survey and determine if those line markings are assisting in further reducing the speed," he said. "The bottom line is that the speed reduction in both directions is quite significant. (It's) almost as significant as if we installed speed humps." For more information, visit www.oakville.ca. Bill & Elizabeth Graham: We look forward to building great business relationships with all of the surrounding communities and all of our customers. We have partnered and joined forces with the RONA Home & Garden Mississauga, Georgetown and Milton locations to better serve our community's consumers and contractors. FALL SALE NO TAX SALE ENDS OCTOBER 31st HEY OAKVILLE, COME MEET OUR STORE MANAGERS Elizabeth Graham Manager 905-878-8171 Milton 700 Main St. E. (On Main St. E. East of Thompson Rd. S.) 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