From
Councillor Watt's community emails;
Roundabouts: Public Consultation
The intersections at Cunard/North Park/Agricola and Rainnie/Cogswell/North Park need to be upgraded. Neither of these intersections meets national transportation standards and both suffer from aging underground infrastructure, problematic traffic flow, frequent collisions and poor connectivity from street to street. These intersections are confusing to travel through, be it on foot, on bicycle, or in a vehicle. In 2010, Halifax Regional Council adopted in principle the use of modern roundabouts on municipal roads where appropriate design guidelines and standards can be met. The report is at:
http://www.halifax.ca/council/agenda...100511cow3.pdf
For further information go to:
http://www.halifax.ca/Roundabouts/
In February and March 2013, HRM is planning to engage the various stakeholders in this area as well as the general public in two sessions. These sessions will invite input from stakeholders and citizens in order to shape the look and feel of a renewed public space at the intersections and along the North Park corridor. These groups will be given the opportunity to view the two options (roundabouts or upgraded traffic signals) and provide feedback. Further information will be provided once dates for consultation are confirmed.
Personally I am pleased to see roundabouts are still on the table. I don't mind the Cunard intersection much but the Cogswell intersection is a disaster. Installing new roundabouts here should help big time with traffic flow, safety, simplicity, and moving bicycles and pedestrians in a more efficient manner. Also with the planned bicycle lanes on Agricola Street roundabouts are a much safer way of moving cyclists around and ideas could be tossed around for upgrading the adjacent streets at the same time to include bike lanes or paths.