Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) planners presented the two solutions they are considering for the dangerous intersection at Hwy 62 and County Road 1 to Council’s Planning Committee last week.

According to Greg Cooke, project manager for Stantec Consulting, and Deidre Taylor, Ministry of Transportation Senior Project Engineer, the first option involves signal lights and left-turn lanes in both directions on Hwy 62. The second option is a roundabout.

While the first option improves safety, it does not fix the poor intersection angle of 55 degrees. Clear sight lines require straight, 90-degree angles. There would be no reduction in the risk of collisions as a result.

“I spoke to the Commanding Officer at the local detachment of the OPP and he had significant concern about signalization at the intersection because they don’t think people will observe it,” said Mayor Ferguson.

“The feeling from the detachment commander is that a physical structure is a necessity to prevent a fatality in the very near future.”

Councillors agreed signal lights were not much of a solution. The preferred option is a roundabout. It forces cars to slow down to enter, creating the potential for both fewer and less severe collisions when compared to a signalized intersection.

The disadvantages concern the need to expropriate land around the site.

The Mayor noted, however, that the property owners on all four corners of the intersection agreed last year to donate the property required for a roundabout.

“Those property owners support a roundabout, not signalization,” said the Mayor. “They want to formalize their offers of land and write letters of support for a roundabout.”

The hope was that the land donations would both eliminate the need for expropriation and speed up the project, but the MTO’s planners were firm that many procedures would need to be followed and assessments done before the project reaches the stage of calling for tenders. A roundabout, if that is the chosen option, could be more than five years away.

Councillors’ frustration was palpable.

“A lot of people feel it’s only a matter of time before something really horrific happens at that intersection,” said Mayor Ferguson.

“Given everything you have heard tonight about property owners willing to donate their property, and that Councillors feel there is really no choice to make, is there any way this process can be expedited and construction can start in 2024?” asked Councillor St. Jean.

But Ms. Taylor put on the brakes. “We recognize the urgency, and the land donations certainly help, that has some potential to speed up the process, but 2024 would be pretty aggressive given the tendering timeline.”

Ms. Taylor said the project was scheduled to begin “sometime in the next five years,” but she could not make any promises.

“I think I speak for everyone when I say our community expects to see this done as quickly as possible,” said  Councillor St. Jean.

Councillor Hirsch, noting his very strong support for a roundabout as a solution, asked whether a single-lane roundabout would be sufficient or if a double-lane would be better.

Mr. Cooke explained that roundabout analysis software indicated a single lane would be sufficient, if a roundabout were the preferred plan.

In a conversation with the Gazette when the public input process was launched, Prince Edward County detachment commander Staff Sgt. John Hatch noted anecdotally that the traffic circle at Loyalist Parkway and County Road 1 had done its job. “There were regular calls to that intersection for major vehicle collisions. Since I’ve been here, I’ve been to one and that was weather related,” Sgt. Hatch said.

No costs were provided for either of the options presented, although Mr. Cooke noted that, generally, installing a roundabout is more expensive than signal lights.

Noting there was a lot more worry about the costs of accidents than the expense of the roundabout, Councillor Rosso suggested reducing the speed limit approaching that intersection to 60km/hr while we wait for better solutions.

The first Public Information Centre for the project is available for public review and feedback on the study website (www.Hwy62PEC1.ca/) from June 29, 2023 through August 12, 2023. A more specific and detailed PIC comes this fall. To contact the project managers directly, simply press the link for comments.