THUNDER BAY – Thunder Bay's first major roundabout is seeing indications of success a year after opening, with the city actively planning to introduce more in the coming years.
Thunder Bay drivers have performed remarkably well on the Edward Street and Redwood Avenue roundabout since it opened in late September of 2021, according to Matthew Miedema, project engineer with the City of Thunder Bay's engineering division.
Miedema said that while the frequency of collisions hasn’t changed much with the new intersection, the severity of collisions has been reduced.
"The benefit of the roundabout is it's a safer intersection, so its collisions are a lot reduced because of lower speeds,” he said. “So they're not injury collisions, they're just... minor damage to vehicles."
Miedema said staff had worked to introduce the city's first major roundabout gently (another is located at Prince Arthur's Landing).
“We did follow best practices from Canada and the states around us how to best to introduce them,” he said. “That roundabout education day we held was highly recommended, and I think that came off very successfully to help introduce people to, and get them used to, the roundabout.”
The city is considering plans to introduce more roundabouts, Miedema said. The north side of the city could see a new roundabout as soon as next year, pending budget approval, he said.
“We do continue to look at other intersections as we come through with major works,” he said. “One we’re looking at next year possibly would be Cumberland and Water and the marina park overpass there. As we come through with a major watermain job, there might be an opportunity to see if signals are still warranted and roundabout justification.”
He cited the intersection of Parkdale and Porcupine boulevards, in the Parkdale subdivision, as one potential future location as the area develops, but said that could still be a few years off.
