Block Line Extension (Including 3-Lane Roundabout at Homer Watson)

[Urbanomicon]

Councillors OK three-lane roundabout
December 2, 2009 | By Jeff Outhit, Record Staff | http://news.therecord.com/article/637899

St. Mary's High School is in the top right of this image.

WATERLOO REGION — Regional councillors have approved four more traffic roundabouts, despite public concerns about pedestrian safety.

Two of the new circles will have three lanes, partly around. They will become the biggest roundabouts built locally.

One new circle will be near St. Mary’s High School in Kitchener. It’s expected to serve more pedestrians than any other local roundabout.

“I remain convinced that these are safer for pedestrians,” Regional Chair Ken Seiling said in an interview.

“Certainly statistics from elsewhere and our own statistics show that there are fewer pedestrian accidents at the roundabouts than there are at signalized intersections.”

The roundabouts approved Tuesday are all at sites where intersection upgrades are required. They are:
In Kitchener, at Homer Watson Boulevard and Block Line Road. It’s planned for 2011, to accommodate a growing traffic levels. It will have three lanes on one side to handle southbound traffic on Homer Watson.
It will have extra-wide splitter islands to accommodate students from nearby St. Mary’s.

In Cambridge, at Hespeler Road and Queen Street in Hespeler. It’s planned for 2011 to accommodate growing traffic levels. It will have three lanes on one side to handle southbound traffic on Hespeler Road.
It will include two right-turn bypass lanes outside the circle.

In Cambridge, at Fountain Street and Dickie Settlement Road in Blair. It’s meant to serve the Conestoga College expansion and may be built next year. It will have two lanes in the circle and one right-turn bypass lane outside the circle.

In Kitchener, on Ira Needles Boulevard 242 metres south of University Avenue. It’s planned for next year, to help provide access to a giant shopping complex underway at the site.

Councillors approved the roundabout near St. Mary’s despite concerns raised by residents at public meetings about pedestrian safety.

Traffic planners assured councillors that students will be able to cross the roundabout more safely than they would cross at an expanded, signalized intersection. This is based partly on other countries that found improved pedestrian safety at roundabouts.

Traffic is required to yield to pedestrians at roundabouts. Pedestrians will be safer than at a signalized intersection because speeds at the circle will be slower, crossing distances will be shorter, and potential collision spots will be fewer, councillors were told.

Splitter islands for pedestrians will be built extra-wide. Special landscaping will deter students from taking shortcuts across the centre island. And students will be educated about how to use the roundabout safely.

“I have some doubts about it,” Kitchener Mayor Carl Zehr said. He endorsed the circle regardless, asking that councillors review the final design before it’s built.

Politicians have made Waterloo Region the roundabout capital of Canada, installing 13 roundabouts on major commuter roads, as well as other roundabouts installed on smaller streets.

Collision records show regional roundabouts have more fender-benders but fewer injuries than signalized intersections. But roundabout collisions are falling and politicians say drivers are on a learning curve.

Seiling expects drivers will be even more experienced at roundabouts in 2011, when the biggest circles are planned for construction.

[jamesbow]

> "Splitter islands for pedestrians will be built extra-wide"

Heh. Did anybody else misread that line as "splatter islands"?

...James (http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/)

[IEFBR14]

Regional councillors have approved four more traffic roundabouts, despite public concerns about pedestrian safety.

Two of the new circles will have three lanes, partly around. They will become the biggest roundabouts built locally.

One new circle will be near St. Mary’s High School in Kitchener. It’s expected to serve more pedestrians than any other local roundabout.

Look at where those crosswalks and splitter/splatter islands are located. Pedestrians still have to cross as many as three lanes of traffic. Granted that traffic is all one way and should be relatively slow going into the roundabout. But judging by current driver practice (not laws, not theory, but practice!), cars stopped waiting to enter the roundabout will block the crosswalk. Pedestrians will either have to wait for traffic to clear, which could be a long time during rush hours, or walk around cars whose drivers are slowly inching forward in anticipation of an opening in the roundabout. I certainly would not want to cross the street at that sort of roundabout.

In Europe pedestrian crossings over high traffic roundabouts are often via tunnels underneath the roadway. Has any thought been given to doing this sort of thing here, especially at the high school?

[Urbanomicon]

In Europe pedestrian crossings over high traffic roundabouts are often via tunnels underneath the roadway. Has any thought been given to doing this sort of thing here, especially at the high school?

They had some comments to that effect at the last public information session for this project. Basically the city said that they don't think that students would bother to climb/descend stairs, they would just go across. A tunnel also poses a potential crime hazard for students. I'll see if I can find the report that was on SSP a while ago.

[mpd618]

What I completely don't get is how a pedestrian is supposed to cross the lanes where cars are exiting the roundabout, where the cars who are not yielding to other cars. What exactly is supposed to prompt those cars to stop?

[Urbanomicon]

What exactly is supposed to prompt those cars to stop?

Running into a pedestrian?

In all seriousness though, I think this will be a disaster for both traffic flow and pedestrian safety.

[IEFBR14]

Excellent point! I completely missed that. Especially the exit at the bottom of the graphic with three lanes of traffic bearing down on pedestrians who dare get in their way.

I guess what we're all missing here is that since drivers will be travelling at a relatively slow speeds, pedestrians will suffer "more fender-benders but fewer injuries than signalized intersections", er, "more scrapes and scratches but fewer broken bones and fatalities than when crossing three lanes of one-way traffic such as Erb St or Bridgeport road." (Drivers exiting a roundabout will do so slowly. It would never occur to any of them to accelerate out as fast as possible.)

</sarcasm>

[mpd618]

It strikes me that much of that issue might be addressed were there a large, visibly distinguished and raised surface for the crossing. That way, cars really would have a reason to slow down when exiting (and when entering) a roundabout.

[Urbanomicon]

http://www.region.waterloo.on.ca/web...df?openelement

[waterloowarrior]

One big problem is that the rules are not clear in Ontario....

-Waterloo says pedestrians have the right of way.
-MTO tells pedestrians for their roundabout in Picton "Vehicles always have the right of way in the roundabout (page 2)"
-Drivers handbook says drivers should `Watch' for pedestrians (doesn't say anything about yielding).
-City of Ottawa says "Pedestrians do not have right of way in a roundabout, but discussions are about to get underway with provincial authorities to get that changed"

Kind of scary if you think about it.

[IEFBR14]

One big problem is that the rules are not clear in Ontario... Kind of scary if you think about it.

While the HTA is also silent on this issue, in similar situations, e.g. crossing the road at a crosswalk, completing a crossing at a signalled intersection after the signals change, etc., it clearly requires vehicles to yield to pedestrians.

[garthdanlor]

They definitely need to consider a pedestrian subway here. I don't buy the argument that the students won't use it. More likely this is code for "it is too expensive too build" and "we don't want to set a potentially costly precedent". This is a very busy intersection. With a roundabout, there is going to be very few breaks in traffic so it will be extremely dangerous to cross. It is also a very busy pedestrian intersection. I've seen close to a hundred kids lined up waiting to cross Homer Watson (making left turns from Block Line a PITA). Putting a signalled cross-walk would make it much safer for pedestrians but what would it do for traffic flow? A pedestrian subway would eliminate these issues. As for personal safety in the tunnel, I don't think that is a huge concern. It is only a short distance. Put up some mirrors and lights and it will be fine. You see them all over the UK, and society hasn't collapsed yet over there. At least not due to pedestrian subways...

[KevinL]

It seems Block Line Road is getting extended, at least partially - I've seen tree clearing and land grading beyond its current endpoint by Fallowfield. Any word if this is just to access more residential development, or are they actually starting the connection to Courtland?

[KLM]

I know they are doing it sometime this month according to city of kitchener road contruction/closures page.I wonder what they meant Fallowfield Dr. to 400 metres easterly? or they just going to extend Balzer Road to Fallowfield Dr?

or simply connect Blockline towards Balzer Rd?

[1231]

.

[Urbanomicon]

Block Line Road is being extended 400m easterly. There is also a dead end to Lenox Lewis Way behind St.Mary's that is going to be extend to the new end of Block Line Road. The idea is cars will no longer use the St.Mary's parking lot to get from behind the school to the front.

According to the new RTMP, the full extention of Block Line Road isn't planned for several years (10?)

That makes sense. A 400m extension would result is Block Line ending just prior to the creek and railway lines. I assume this extension will be four lanes wide since I can't see it being cost effective to make it two lanes for several years only to widen it to four. It's probably also safe to say that the roundabout planned for the Fallowfield-Block Line intersection won't be put in place until the road is fully extended.

[KLM]

any maps?

[1231]

.

[KevinL]

According to the new RTMP, the full extention of Block Line Road isn't planned for several years (10?)

Seriously? I thought it would be sooner than that. I had the impression it would be in place by the time the LRT station is built there, at any rate.

Also, thanks for the map; very helpful.