Driver concerns over Balgonie roundabouts

For some drivers, the roundabout is enough to make a person’s head spin, and there are two new ones at the Balgonie overpass.

“It’s different, it’s the fear of the unknown, and it’s change,” Paul Spasoff, Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure’s spokesman said.

“I think once people have an opportunity to try them and drive them, they’ll soon get accustomed to it, and they won’t have those same fears.”

The roundabouts at the Balgonie overpass are a single lane.

“Based on the traffic volumes in the area and safety considerations, the design team decided that roundabouts would be the best solution for this overpass,” Spasoff said.

“They’re more efficient. You can have more vehicles through the intersection, so it does save people time.”

A standard intersection has 32 points of conflict, but a roundabout only has eight, Spasoff said.

“Roundabouts reduce collisions and keep traffic flowing. They’re really safe,” Shay Shpak, SGI Driver Development Director. “Four-way stops are awful.”

As drivers approach the roundabout, they should reduce speed and yield to anyone already using the roundabout, Shpak said.

Once you’re in the roundabout, you have the right of way.

It’s important to remember to signal right when you intend to leave the roundabout, Shpak said.

However, some drivers are calling the roundabout a turn for the worse.

Gary Sekhon worried his double trailer would roll over.

“It was too tipped like this, so I stopped, and slowly went through there,” Sekhon said. “They spent a lot of money on it, but I don’t think it’s good for us.”

Truck driver Brian Fernandes agreed the roundabout should be bigger.

“Especially considering you have two roundabouts, I would imagine during rush hour you’re going to have a lot of traffic piling up over there. They’re too close to each other,” Fernandes said.

Spasoff said the roundabout is in fact designed for semi-trucks with two trailers.

“There’s a red apron around it, and so that allows the tractor trailers to have that extra room, the extra width for them to complete the turn,” Spasoff said.

Truck driver Noel Fernando said the roundabout was better than a traffic light.

“You can get through them a lot faster,” Fernando said, adding that he did wish the roundabout was wider. “A lot of drivers still don’t know how to go around roundabouts because they’re pretty new in a lot of places…they’re going to have to go into the study books and learn how to get through the roundabout.”

Jason Wilson, a driver passing through the area, said roundabouts are the way to go.

“It was high traffic when we came in here this week, so it creates a better flow, more accessibility, and everybody likes a new highway,” Wilson said. “I hope nobody complains about it because we need it.”

Spasoff acknowledged that people have some not-so-fond memories of Saskatoon’s old traffic circle.

“One of the main differences between the two of them, that one was a double lane, and this is a single lane roundabout, and obviously traffic is not the same here as it would have been on 8th Street in Saskatoon.”

“One of the main things for people to keep in mind is to not make a judgment before they’ve come out here. Come out here and try them first,” Spasoff said.