Collingwood Council has learned that the preparation work for a proposed roundabout at High Street at the Poplar Sideroad is too far along to abandon the plan at this point.

In a detailed presentation to council on Monday, January 31st, Collus Executive Director Ed Houghton told council that the municipality has purchased the necessary property along the Poplar Sideroad and High Street to allow for the construction of the roundabout. The presentation detailed why the roundabout was preferred over a standard signalized intersection to control traffic flow at the Poplar Sideroad - High Street intersection.

Houghton outlined advantages of constructing a roundabout. "From an engineering perspective, it has been noted that there are reduced collisions and the severity of those collisions are lessened. It reduces travel delays. It reduces vehicle speeds. It reduced the number of lanes that are required and it maximizes intersection capacity." Houghton added that reduced vehicle emissions and increased safety were two additional advantages of introducing roundabouts to the town. He stated that the construction of the roundabout sees increase land and construction costs, adding that pedestrians may experience greater delays.

"As you know the Town of The Blue Mountains in Grey County installed a roundabout at the base of Blue Mountain and to date there have been no reported accidents. It accommodates peak ski demand and is now favoured by Blue Mountain Resorts, Town of The Blue Mountains and Grey County."

Houghton said the preliminary and final design of the roundabout was $52,000. Land acquisitions totalled $725,000. "For all intents and purposes the figure is about $1 million plus landscaping." Completed work to date includes the preliminary design and land acquisition. Houghton said to construct a signalized intersection at this point would cost approximately $810,000.

A report from Consulting Engineers C.C. Tatham & Associates Ltd stated that any deviation from the approved Class EA recommendations would require the Class EA study to be revisited and an amended report/findings published, including appropriate rationale and justification for a change to the recommendations. The report stated that there is no new information to suggest that a roundabout should not be the preferred solution, other than it may cost more than a signalized intersection.

Councillor Keith Hull said that looking to the future, the passing of time could provide the town with a payback with regards to less costs associated with maintaining a roundabout as opposed to a signalled intersection. "If we were to amortize it over a twenty year period, that there would be a payback in favour of a roundabout and that has to be factored in as well." Hull said that he has talked to people from the region of Waterloo who tell him that the construction of roundabouts has seen an associated decrease in traffic accidents. "That means the costs to fire service, ambulance and police service to respond is also down, so yes, we're paying up front perhaps here for an asset in a roundabout but the costs associated with servicing that asset are coming down potentially, and I think that this should be played into our decision."

Councillor Joe Gardhouse stated that starting over with a new plan for the Poplar Sideroad/High Street intersection didn't make sense from both a financial and timeline point of view at this point.