Alberta Transportation is looking at putting a new spin on two troublesome intersections in Sturgeon County.
The department is studying the prospect of putting roundabouts or traffic circles at two intersections on Highway 44, at Highway 633 and Highway 37.
Trent Bancarz, a spokesperson for the department, stressed the department is still only looking at the idea, but said the province generally likes the idea of roundabouts.
“They are being looked at. We haven’t made the decisions yet, but they are being evaluated at those two intersections,” he said. “We are putting more and more roundabouts in throughout the province.”
Bancarz said the province has put in three roundabouts at highways in the province and has plans for four more.
“We like them because they move traffic really well, much better than a set of lights or a four way stop and they also perform very well safety wise,” he said. “The safety improvements are enormous compared to a traditional intersection.”
Bancarz said the safety benefits of roundabouts come from reduced speeds and from the elimination of opportunities for vehicles to cross paths.
“You don’t have traffic going across each other’s paths and the traffic is all flowing in the same direction, so even if you do have a collision it is less severe.”
Bancarz said in other areas where the province has introduced traffic circles there was always concern going into the development, but after they were in place drivers usually warm to the idea.
“With anything new there is a little bit of fear in the unknown, but certainly a modern roundabout is very easy to use, once you go through it once or twice you won’t even think about it.”
He said in one location near Sylvan Lake a traffic circle dramatically reduced waiting times at what was a four-way stop and lowered collisions.
“They have been real success stories for us so far.”
The idea is still being studied Bancarz noted, and said money for the project isn’t on the department’s current budget.
“We haven’t made any final decisions on them and they are not on the three-year construction plan.”
He did say that the department changes its budget on an annual basis and there is some potential for the projects to be moved up.
“Things can change when the construction program gets revised.”
