Whether a roundabout would untangle Sicamous’ ‘octopus intersection’ on Highway 97A remains to be seen, but a similar setup seems to be working well in Clearwater.
The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure recently announced it will be hosting a public hearing in Sicamous Tuesday night (after press time), to present a proposed solution – a roundabout – for the problematic intersection just off the Trans-Canada Highway.
While it’s unusual in the province to have a roundabout on the highway, it wouldn’t be unique. The District of Clearwater has had a roundabout since 2013. It is located on Highway 5 in the town’s core, and at the busy turnoff to Wells Gray Park.
District of Clearwater CAO Leslie Groulx says that after incorporation in 2007, the intersection became a safety priority for the elected council. They first approached the ministry on the matter at the 2008 Union of B.C. Municipalities convention, seeking a fix that would work for the community. Groulx says the ministry eventually came up with the idea of the roundabout, and council embraced it. Public information meetings were held to explain the roundabout concept, and Groulx said there was opposition for sure. But many who were initially opposed have since come around.
“We now have people who were very strongly opposed to it come in and say it was the best thing to ever happen because it works really slick,” said Groulx.
Groulx says Clearwater’s double-laned roundabout was engineered to handle “extraordinary loads” – including the tour buses and tractor-trailer traffic that frequently turn off for the park, or carry on north for the oil patch.
“One of the key things… it’s a continuous flow,” said Groulx, noting the integrated crosswalks are more safe than those that existed prior.
“The other option was to put a red light at that intersection, and it wouldn’t have been a good thing because there’s a hill that comes up, so in the winter time if you had five semis at a stop light, they wouldn’t get going again.”
According to the ministry, roundabouts serve as a “traffic calming” measure that reduces the potential for serious crashes.
“In fact, studies have shown that roundabouts have 35 per cent fewer crashes, 90 per cent fewer vehicle fatalities and 76 per cent fewer vehicle-related injuries,” states the ministry’s TranBC website.
The ministry has created another website, How To Use Roundabouts, which provides an interactive animation allowing people to test different scenarios and learn the rules of the roundabout road.
Groulx says the roundabout has been so impressive that council is now lobbying for a second one at another, “even more dangerous” intersection along Highway 5 near the Wells Gray Inn.
In addition to improving traffic safety, Groulx says the roundabout also appears to be having a positive impact on business.
“In all honesty, I believe, as the economic development officer, and as the CAO, that it’s actually creating a bit of a hub and some interest in our community, people wanting to come and locate their business here,” said Groulx.
The How to Use Roundabouts website can be found at http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/roundabouts/clearwater.html.
