A group of residents has started a petition urging the MD of Bonnyville to reconsider spending $2 million on a roundabout slated for construction at the intersections of Highways 55 and 892.
The group needs 10 per cent of MD of Bonnyville residents' signatures for it to be a legal petition. Organizers estimate this at just under 1,000 names.
Organizer Bernard Chartrand said he had 100 people sign in two hours.
The petition will be located at businesses in the Town of Bonnyville, as well as Iron River, LaCorey, Ardmore and Fort Kent.
Chartrand said the public should have been consulted about the intersection.
“We're doing this ... because there was no input from the public. They never called a meeting to involve the public in this.”
He said both provincial and local meetings should have been held.
“That would've given them a heck of a good idea what the public wants.”
He is concerned about how large trucks will drive through the roundabout, and the difficulty drivers could have during icy conditions or a blizzard.
“We're not in California, here.”
Organizer Gilbert Proulx said he went to B&R Eckels, and right away truck drivers asked, “Where do I sign?”
He said most people he has spoken to are upset about the roundabout.
“Why the people are upset is we're putting $2 million in something that does not belong to us.”
Proulx believes the MD is operating outside of its mandate, as the roundabout is slated at the intersection of two provincial roads.
“It should be the provincial government paying the MD for their projects. Not the municipality paying the (provincial) government for their projects. The flow is going in the wrong direction.”
He says the MD should focus on fixing its own roads.
Proulx suggested the MD may be contravening the Municipal Governance Act. The Ministry of Transportation confirmed this is not the case.
Municipalities have in the past provided money for Alberta Transportation projects, explained Heather Kaszuba, a spokesperson from the ministry.
In the case of the intersection at Highways 55 and 892, the MD identified it as a priority project, she said. As it would provide benefits for the municipality, the MD's contribution will help Alberta Transportation to move forward with the project. Detailed engineering for the roundabout is underway.
Kaszuba said the province uses roundabouts because of their safety and traffic flow benefits.
A roundabout removes the threat of a left hand or ‘t-bone' collision, with a far less severe rear end collision more likely to occur.
“The safety advantages of a roundabout have been some of the main benefits,” she said, explaining how this considers trucks.
Unlike older style traffic circles such as those in Edmonton, modern roundabouts have a truck apron. This gives trucks extra space to drive through the centre to make a tighter turn and drive in a straighter line, explained Kaszuba.
She said ensuring truck movement was a critical part of the design.
Due to a roundabout's tighter circumference, motorists are forced to slow down to speeds of 20 or 30 km/h, which reduces the collision rate, she said.
“By slowing the motorists down you're actually able to have a smoother flow and more traffic volume is able to smoothly access it and flow through ... That's where the truck apron is critical.”
Chartrand noted how the intersection has already been prepared to accommodate lights and prefers this option to a roundabout.
A roundabout is more beneficial than traffic lights because it allows for a free flow situation and traffic flow is improved, according to Kaszuba. Traffic lights on a highway cause abrupt changes in speed which can be dangerous if traffic doesn't adhere to it, she said.
The roundabout just outside of Sylvan Lake is similar to the one slated for MD of Bonnyville because it is the intersection of two major highways.
Kaszuba said people in Sylvan Lake were also not immediately supportive of the roundabout.
“There was hesitation as to how it might operate,” she said. But “the success and acceptance of the roundabout has been very dramatic since opening it,” as people see how it operates.
A video showing a truck driving through a roundabout is available on Alberta Transportation's website at http://www.transportation.alberta.ca/3644.htm.
Proulx said oil companies should be shuttling their employees more to reduce the amount of traffic in the area.
He said the group must reach its goal to obtain enough signatures.
“It's not a question of choice.”
