Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure is looking at installing a roundabout at the junction of Highway 5 and the road to Wells Gray Park.
“The ministry’s engineers came to us with the idea,” said John Harwood, Clearwater’s mayor. “We’d been in discussion with them for some time about lights at the intersection and they came back with this as an alternative.”
Bart Chenuz, roads manager for the Clearwater area for MOTI, included an update on the proposal in a presentation he made to the District’s infrastructure committee last Tuesday.
The Ministry spokesperson told them that going through the paperwork and acquiring the land for the project could take until next January, said Harwood.
The mayor said he has heard some people criticize the roundabout concept.
“I don’t think they realize how prevalent they have become on this side of the Atlantic,” he said.
Part of the proposal for the Clearwater Valley Road junction would be to have signs or displays to mark the turnoff to Wells Gray Park in the center of the roundabout.
According to Wikipedia, modern roundabouts were invented in the United Kingdom about 50 years ago. Statistically, they are safer for both traffic and pedestrians than older-style traffic circles or traditional intersections.