Kenora bears to the right: roundabouts greener, safer alternative to improve traffic flow.

Kenora motorists are quickly learning they don't own the road, but need to share it.

The northwestern Ontario municipality opened a traffic roundabout last fall as part of its larger $25 million 'Big Spruce' downtown and waterfront revitalization project.

Though common in Europe, roundabouts have been slow to gain acceptance in North America by reluctant municipal planners and drivers. But more green-minded communities are introducing them for their traffic flow and safety benefits.

It's always the fear of the unknown, said Roy Houston, manager of Civil Municipal Services for the KGS Group, the designers of the traffic control device.

"At the outset it's always about 75 per cent rejection, but afterwards it's just the opposite."

Kenora was no different.

When the idea was first proposed in 2004 as part of Kenora's new urban strategy it was a huge selling job to convince skeptical residents and some city administrators of their advantages.

Turns out, "it's not that big a deal in the end," said Houston.

The $1.2 million roundabout is situated at the western entrance to Kenora's downtown where Highway 17, also known as Lakeshore Drive, curves around the harbour front onto Main Street.

Previously it was a conventional three-way intersection with traffic signals, and two side streets, Veterans Drive to the north, and Bernard Drive going south along the waterfront.

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The roundabout, which opened last October, is designed to carry 18,000 to 20,000 vehicles per day and is hoped to reduce the summer time downtown traffic snarls.

Roundabouts are a new specialty for the KGS Group, the Winnipeg engineering consulting firm, which is overseeing management of the two-year urban project being carried out by Wilco Construction, also of Winnipeg.

It's KGS' second roundabout and it is believed to be the only one on the Trans-Canada Highway.

Unlike traffic circles, roundabouts are generally smaller and the right of way is given to vehicles already inside the roadway.

Kenora's roundabout has only a 20-metre radius with a single asphalt outer lane for automobiles. An inner ring of rough granite cobble serves as a truck apron to accommodate the turning radius of large transports. It poses a rough enough ride to keep cars off it.

An off-ramp, known as a slip lane, allows eastbound traffic to by-pass the round-about and head down toward the water-front where a future tourist information centre pavilion will be built.

Roundabouts have environmental benefits in reducing greenhouse gases from idling cars at signal intersections, as well as eliminating costs to power traffic lights.

But safety is the biggest advantage.

"There's less conflict points for collision of vehicles," said Houston. A normal four-way signal light intersection has 32 conflict points. A roundabout has eight.

Traffic through a roundabout is slow, in the 20 kilometre-per-hour range, which is the intended purpose. "If there is a collision, it's not as major as someone going through a red light."

In entering a roundabout, the designed angle of deflection forces motorists to bear to the right, counter clockwise, and safely merge into traffic.

The first few days after opening to traffic in early October produced some hair raising moments. Houston watched one motorist enter "backwards"--clockwise--during rush hour and head straight for the inner truck apron.

"Someone was kind enough to let him through and he got through with no damage."

For pedestrians crossing the intersection, they only look in one direction, and all the roadside walkways are wheelchair accessible.

Houston admits it was a challenging location to make it fit. The land around intersection is a narrow right-of-way, wedged between an elevated railway abutment to the north and the waterfront.

Using computer modeling, it was designed for a transport truck hauling a 57-foot trailer to make a complete 360 degree turn. Prior to opening for traffic, planners ran a trial with two of the largest trucks they could find and made some adjustments, placing asphalt aprons on the outside edges.

To educate drivers, there were also several public meetings and presentations to teach the new road rules, especially for seniors.

Kenora municipal engineer Marco Vogrig said locals are getting the hang of it.

"The real test will be this summer when we gear up for our tourist season in July and August."

With new sidewalks and traffic signals still to be installed on Main Street, Vogrig wants to see how traffic flows onto connecting roads downtown once the surface renovations are finished this summer.

"The jury is still out on how things are going to function. If it works through a full summer, it's definitely a good improvement to traffic flow."

So far traffic appears to flow quicker, especially during off-peak periods.

Vogrig finds the roundabout a "useful piece of infrastructure", but he's unsure if more are in the offing because of the larger land expropriation requirements than conventional intersections.

KGS, which previously designed a Winnipeg roundabout, is submitting the Kenora project for an award through the Consulting Engineers of Manitoba.

"It's pretty unique," said Houston. "There are a lot of good impacts socially and economically for the downtown. (Tourism) is something that's going to be Kenora's main industry and this is really encouraging people to be downtown and take advantage of the scenery and the shops."

Houston, who owns a cottage at nearby Black Sturgeon Lake, frequently checks out how drivers are adapting on a community webcam.

He credits downtown merchants and the appointed block captains for enabling the transition to go smoothly during construction. "There were a many dedicated people on this project to make it a success."

Overall, the general public feedback has been largely positive, said Houston, who jokes, "drivers getting so used to it, they are actually going a little bit faster (through it) than they should."

www.kgsgroup.com

www.bigspruce.ca

(Kenora downtown revitalization project)

www.kenora.ca/portal/news/news.aspx?id=8500

(Kenora Roundabout webcam)

By IAN ROSS

Northern Ontario Business