Drivers racing through Ebony Way in Erin Ridge seem to forget that families with kids and dogs live there.
Living there is like living along the Trans-Canada Highway – and that roundabout at Coal Mine Road has only made it worse.
The whole point of a properly-designed roundabout is to force traffic to slow down. But, at that one, plenty of cars speed up.
Stand by the roundabout for a minute or two and you'll see that cars coming from Costco rarely hit their brakes as they go through it – and many drive over the sides so they don't have to slow down.
Over the years, the city has tried half-measures, like putting rocks and a tree in the centre to keep people from driving straight through.
But in other cities, roundabouts have lower speed limits, raised centres that you can't see oncoming traffic through and roadways that are curved and narrow enough to make you slow down.
The newer roundabouts in St. Albert, especially the one on Villeneuve Road, do this better – so the city has clearly learned some lessons.
While the radar speed signs installed on Ebony last fall seem to be spurring some drivers to slow down, that traffic circle needs to be redesigned to do its job – before someone gets hurt or killed.
Jason Tchir, St. Albert
