Photo: Jack Lakey, Toronto Star
Source: Toronto Star
ONTARIO - A traffic circle at a west-end intersection with stop signs on all four sides creates confusion and makes collisions more likely.
Anyone who has driven in England has passed through a traffic circle or "roundabout," which allows drivers to enter an intersection without stopping and then carry on counter-clockwise.
Some drivers swear traffic circles are superior to intersections with stop signs, citing reduced fuel consumption and pollution, as well as smoother traffic flow.
The Saturday Star Wheels section has seen lively debate about them. Many people say most local intersections should be made into traffic circles; others want no part of them.
Traffic circles are rare in North America, but a reader called us about one at Humbercrest Blvd. and Baby Point Rd., north of Jane and Bloor Sts., where driver uncertainty and close calls are common.
In the middle of the intersection is a raised, circular planter decorated with an old-fashioned street lamp, which serves as the roundabout.
Yellow signs on all four approaches inform drivers they're coming up to a traffic circle. But there are also red stop signs at each corner. Drivers who ignore them could get a traffic ticket for failing to stop.
"People are driven nuts by this," said the reader. "It is confusing."
Star reporter Leslie Ferenc, who lives in the area and occasionally fills in as The Fixer, knows the intersection and agrees it's confusing. Some people make a left turn in front of the planter, while others go around, as they're supposed to.
STATUS: Allen Pinkerton, who's in charge of all Toronto road signs, said he's aware of only about a dozen traffic circles here. At some, stop signs were left in place after resistance from local residents. He said traffic operations officials would make the decision on whether to alter the one at Baby Point and Humbercrest. But the conflicting signs can cause confusion, he said, and the roundabout signs should probably go. Someone will be sent to check it out right away.
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2 comments:
If better educated, drivers may certainly see the major benefits in safety from roundabouts. Unfortunately, introducing them to drivers without any clue how to negotiate them is a recipe for disaster; regardless of the fact that they're quite simple with even fewer rules than a normal, controlled intersection.
Roundabouts have proven they force drivers to think about what happens next unlike red lights and stop signs. The problem, really, is that the current driver's training dished out by most driving schools don't cover roundabouts as they aren't on the road tests.
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