On October 24th, we will preempt the first 3 hours of our very popular Sunday replay block to review the stories and candidates of the civic election thus far -- from Mayor Katz denying a bike lobby exists, to Coun. Gerbasi proclaiming the destruction of Assiniboine Avenue was 'payback' by cyclists for years of neglect, to the little old lady on Edmonton St. who said "let them bring their own mothers down here".
Spirited Kenny and Captain Audio will join Marty Gold in studio, along with calls from bloggers and you listeners of the show. Who know, maybe even a candidate or two might join in !
As an added bonus, we will debut our Cue to Call for exclusive TGCTS Winter gear, courtesy of Compustitch! Listen in on Sunday night for the very best in local election coverage.
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Traffic circles continue to dominate the headlines after the crash yesterday at Grosvenor and Waverly. Ignoring all science, avid cyclist Bob "That's MISTER Publisher to you" Cox lectured todays Free Press readers that cops should hand out tickets to motorists who don't navigate the traffic circles to his satisfaction.
"As a River Heights resident, I have listened to traffic officials explain how safe the new circles are, and how simple they are to use.
So how do they explain the fact that I have been involved in three near collisions at traffic circles newly installed on Grosvenor Avenue?
Actually, there is a simple explanation -- traffic circles don't cause collisions; people cause collisions."
Cox would be well advised to educate himself, and there are many Free Press readers willing to do so, such as this comment online:Why do some people conclude that traffic circles can't be bad, that there are only bad drivers. They completely ignore the fact that even in England, with many smaller sized vehicles than in Canada, the recommended design for the smallest circles have a diameter of 45 to 80 feet. We have streets about 25 feet wide and that is the rough diameter of these circles. When you have to make decisions while in motion coming into or within a very confined area, accidents will happen. They just will. And they are likely to be many more than when these relatively small intersections were controlled by stop signs.
My guess is that there are a lot of Active Transportation people, quite well organized, who want all the changes the city has made, and who are doing their best to keep up the message - just give it time!?
Meantime, we can probably expect more accidents.
Surely, the city owes us some meaningful public explanation as to why the change was seen as necessary, their purpose, etc what were ALL of the factors that went into the design, what were the design standards used in retrofitting, how does the retrofit compare to new construction design, what are the pros AND cons, what exactly fire departments, trucking companies, service vehicles etc had to say. How important is the view of the citizens living in the neighborhood? We don't need positions like, "we consulted, our traffic engineers have made a good decision and you will get used to it." It is time for transparency
http://anybody-want-a-peanut.blogspot.com/2010/10/about-roundabouts.html
Even the Director of Public Works was on TV saying that "people just need to get used to it".
Wrong wrong everybody is wrong. The problem is not that traffic circles are too hard to figure out. The problem is that they're poorly designed
Graham Hnatiuk did his own study into the faulty science of mini-circles:
http://progressivewinnipeg.blogspot.com/2010/10/measurements-and-evidence-traffic.html
If you don't live around these things, you should feel sorry for anyone who does, and pray to God some people never have jobs again before it happens in YOUR neighbourhood. If you're any of the above, you should be calling Sam Katz, emailing him, calling your councillor, emailing your councillor, and emailing the acting CAO Mike Ruta: never, ever, ever let these consulting clowns get another contract in our city ever again.
And finally, John Dobbin, who has written extensively about the AT controversies in the River Heights neighbourhood where the accident happened yesterday, summed it all up this way:
http://johndobbin.blogspot.com/2010/10/river-heights-active-transportation_21.html
Sam Katz says people just have to learn how to use them.
Sam Katz, you are wrong. They are not safe. They are not proper roundabouts. Someone is going to end badly hurt and could die as a result of these things.
It is not safe for drivers, not safe for cyclists, not safe for pedestrians and not safe for homeowners nearby these mini-traffic circles.
Winnippeggers want safe roads. A traffic circle ought to be wide, have no possibility of turning the wrong way on it and have clearly marked yield signs to traffic and people with the right of way.
Sam Katz, tear down these structures.
And also, this explanation of why the circles don't register with drivers who need to turn, from a Red River College engineer:
Marty
When we are taught to drive we are taught to make a left turn to the left of the centre of the intersection.
As noted below a proper roundabout does not allow this but instead its use is quite intuitive. When I approach one of these moronic islands I want to go to the left of it when making a left turn. This is the normal action when driving. I’m sure there will be many accidents before these mistakes are removed.
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Today, more about the double cross by AT consultants with parking spots being stolen on Airlies due to a dangerous traffic circle, and an interview with River Heights/Fort Garry challenger Michael Kowalson.
