Photo courtesy City of Saint John on YouTube.
Saint John came one step closer to approving its first roundabout Monday night.
The roundabout section of the MoveSJ plan, which aims to improve all methods of transportation in the city, was presented to Common Council.
Six locations were recommended as candidates for reworked intersections, including Simms Corner, Rothesay Road at Ashburn Road, Millidge Avenue at Somerset Street, Manawagonish Road at Gault Road, Boars Head Road at Woodward Avenue, and Sandy Point Road at Foster Thurston Drive.
City staff did not provide cost estimates for each of the locations at Monday’s meeting but said Simms Corner would be an approximately $8-$10 million project. Other locations, requiring less complex work, would likely be cheaper.
Tim O’Reilly, the city’s head traffic engineer, said the projects mentioned in the MoveSJ report are recommendations over the next 25 years, with no set timetable.
“No member of the community should be expecting tomorrow we are going to build these,” O’Reilly said. “This process is identifying good locations for them, so when the opportunity comes up we can do it.”
Simms Corner is recommended to be the first roundabout implemented in the city.
O’Reilly said the MoveSJ plan doesn’t recommend prioritizing roundabouts above other roadway improvements but views the implementation as possibly coinciding with future projects as they arise.
“There’s not one mode of transportation we’re completely prioritizing at the expense of others. We recognize people move throughout Saint John with transit, cycling, trucking, vehicles, and we need to honour all those.”
Councillor David Hickey said it was time for Saint John to catch up with other New Brunswick municipalities, including St. Stephen, which have already embraced roundabouts.
“We’ll chalk this up with stuff like bike lanes, and better pedestrian access. This is the future of transportation that cities have seen for a long time, and I’m excited to get on that bandwagon.”
The full MoveSJ plan is expected to be completed before the end of the year.
