Since 2011, nearly 50 roundabouts have been constructed throughout Waterloo region, with over 20 located in the city of Cambridge.
Safety concerns have been raised by Cambridge city councillors and residents of the city about pedestrian and driver safety in these intersection alternatives.
“We are an organization that believes in statistics and facts,” said Bob Henderson, manager of transportation engineering at the Region of Waterloo. “The fact is roundabouts make roads safer.”
While Henderson and the region acknowledge the public's concerns about safety in roundabouts, the data points to less deaths and less severe accidents, he said.
The region conducted studies from 2016 to 2021 and compared data from roundabouts vs. traditional intersections.
What they found was that roundabouts were operating with 0.11 collisions per year, per roundabout, vs. comparable signals operating with 0.16 collisions per year, per light.
This data showed that pedestrians were approximately 30 per cent safer at roundabouts than stop lights.
“In the Franklin roundabout corridor, there haven’t been any deaths on that road since the roundabouts have been built,” said Henderson.
Cambridge city councillors have called on the region to create additional safety measures for pedestrians and some have even opposed the construction of roundabouts, calling them “chaotic.”
Nicholas Ermeta, councillor for Ward 8, has been vocal about not converting the intersection of Franklin boulevard and Saginaw Parkway into a roundabout.
“I do not want to see a roundabout built here,” said Ermeta. “I am getting feedback that a lot of people are concerned about pedestrian safety at the roundabouts.”
The intersection, located next to St. Benedict’s High School sees hundreds of students a day cross, either to and from school.
Ermeta is concerned for student safety and doesn’t want to see anyone get hurt. He hopes if a roundabout does get built it will have extra safety precautions for students.
In 2011, a 16-year-old Kitchener student was hit by a GRT bus at the newly constructed roundabout at Homer Watson Boulevard. Henderson remembers like it was yesterday.
The crash resulted in a civil lawsuit against the driver, Waterloo Region and the City of Kitchener. Charges against the driver were dropped.
Since the crash, crossing guards have been in place, provided by the region to help students cross the street without incident.
This is a special case and the only area where crossing guards are provided by the region, said Henderson.
The region is still analyzing and deliberating on that intersection to get a better idea of how to proceed with the reconstruction.
Although this would be a regional road project, Henderson and his team will take into consideration the opinions of the local councillors and the public.
“Public meetings will be held on this and the community can come and voice their concerns,” said Henderson.
While some of the ideas from councillors are good, Henderson thinks others are not feasible or rooted in any scientific or factual data.
Things like a pedestrian bridge over a roundabout could be a colossal waste of money and effort, he added.
At this time, the region is not actively adding any additional safety precautions that local councils have been advocating for.
Scott Hamilton, councillor for Ward 7 has suggested installing flashing lights for pedestrians to cross, making them more visible for drivers.
Additionally, Ermeta has asked for lower speed limits and removing obstructions from the center to allow more visibility through the roundabouts.
According to Henderson, until data suggests otherwise, the region will continue to operate as they have been and are looking at other potential intersections to convert into roundabouts.
“When we look at our roads we take everything into consideration, pedestrian safety, driver safety, we have to do a lot of research and collect data accordingly. We wouldn’t want to build something unless we knew it would improve safety and potentially safe lives,” said Henderson.
When addressing driver safety, Henderson noted roundabouts eliminate the possibility of a lot of fatal collisions.
Unlike a normal intersection with a stop light, a roundabout drastically reduces the chance of head-on collisions as well as impacts from a T-bone hit. Speeds are also brought down due to the nature of the shape and the turns drivers have to make.
Instead of putting resources to stop accidents at roundabouts, the region has directed their attention to a more dangerous and pressing issue: stop lights.
“If your kitchen was on fire, would you try and put it out in your bedroom?” asked Henderson.
The region is seeing that roundabouts are working and need to turn their attention to implementing initiatives at stop lights to reduce accidents.
Whether that be adding separate right turn lanes or pedestrian islands to make it safer for people crossing, they want to make sure they address the hot spots first.
