Sudbury's first roundabout now open--2 more to come

The entrance to Sudbury's Collge Boral looks a little different today.

Gone are the traffic lights and in their place is the city's first roundabout. It's part of the Maley Drive Extension Project.

David Shelsted is Sudbury's Director of Engineering Services.

He says drivers will transition quickly to navigating the new roundabout.

"It's rather intuitive to use a roundabout," said Shelsted. "We've been introducing this through public consultation for some time now, so we're hoping it's a relatively easy transition," he added.

Shelsted says a roundabout has a number of benefits, the main one being safety. He says the key is to start slowing down as you approach the roundabout.

He adds that roundabouts allow for a higher volume of traffic and can reduce delays for the travelling public.

Roundabouts also contribute to less idling and less air pollution.

"You're not coming to a full stop for red lights, and vehicles tend to move on a relatively fluid motion," he said. "You get less start-stops. So we see less emissions coming from the vehicles," he explained.

One of the province's first roundabouts was designed for Mattawa to deal with heavy truck traffic. The Ministry of Transportation's Robert Long says the public wasn't keen on the roundabout at first.

"Within three months of the installation of that roundabout the public opinion flipped quite significantly, where 90 per cent of the people that we had talked to really loved the change," said Long. "It was more efficient and they felt safer driving through it," he said.

Shelsted says for people unaccustomed to driving a roundabout, it may take a couple of times to get comfortable with it. "You'll actually enjoy the roundabout experience," he said.

He reminds drivers about one of the big rules for roundabouts--you don't stop once you're in.

"Once you're in the roundabout you have the right of wayeven if there's an emergency vehicle coming into the roundabout," he explained.

When encountering emergency vehicles, "the proper procedure is to keep going to your exit, get out of the roundabout, and then pull to the side once you've exited the roundabout."

Shelsted says there are two more roundabouts in the works for Sudbury--one at Maley Drive and Barry Downe Road, the other at Maley Drive and Lansing Avenue.

Shelsted says they should be open within the next few weeks, weather permitting.

Shelsted is excited about the completion of this project. "It's been decades in the making, it's on schedule, it's on budget, it's really a highlight of a career for me."

Leading up to today's roundabout opening,brochures were distributed to city residents on how to safely walk, drive, and cycle through a roundabout.

The city's website also has information on roundabouts, such as rules of the road, getting around on a roundabout, and benefits of the roundabout over a traditional intersection.