Traffic circles causing confusion

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This article was published 30/09/2010 (5572 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

RIVER Heights residents are getting a baptism by fire with new traffic circles but many figure it’s only a matter of time until somebody gets burned.

Staples of many bicycle-friendly cities, such as London, England, Montreal and Calgary, the mini-roundabouts on Grosvenor Avenue are causing confusion among motorists and pedestrians alike. Who goes in first? Who has the right of way? How do you make a left turn?

“There doesn’t seem to be a lot of education for drivers in Winnipeg,” said Helen Coughlin, who lives off Grosvenor and drives through the traffic circles every day. “This neighbourhood has a lot of young teenage drivers. I don’t think they’re going to be able to handle it.”

Coughlin said at least intersections with a four-way stop provide a window for pedestrians to cross the street. Now it’s far more dangerous.

“There’s a constant stream of traffic now and pedestrians are left out. How do you teach your kids to cross the street? I guess it will be a steep learning curve,” she said.

April Leitch, who was walking her Labrador cross, Rory, Wednesday night along Grosvenor, agreed.

“They’ve been confusing from the start. I’m very concerned. I had to watch out before and now I have to be extra-careful. I feel like (the city) didn’t take the pedestrian into consideration.”

Brian Smiley, a spokesman for Manitoba Public Insurance, said the Crown corporation isn’t expecting to see a rash of accidents at the new traffic circles even though the “familiarity isn’t there.”

“It’s considered a merge. You always enter on the right. If a vehicle is in the roundabout already, it has the right of way. The onus is on the driver to observe the rules of the road and be a little more diligent,” he said.

Smiley said under the Highway Traffic Act, motorists are expected to drive according to the conditions, whether they’re weather- or road-related.

“That’s the challenge of driving. You need to not only adjust your driving but be prepared to come across some new traffic devices. It will be no different than driving down Portage and Main during a blizzard,” he said.

geoff.kirbyson@freepress.mb.ca