Roundabout proposed for 18th and Braecrest

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This article was published 10/05/2019 (2438 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The recommended redesign for the Braecrest Drive corridor features a new roundabout at 18th Street and restricted turning at First Street.

Officials representing the City of Brandon and WSP Canada Group were at Grand Valley Church on Thursday to show the culmination of the Braecrest Drive corridor functional design study, which displayed the various recommendations for the east-to-west road atop the North Hill.

In the short term, the proposal is to extend Quail Ridge Drive to Mockingbird Drive, which links up to the service road parallel to 18th Street. City of Brandon traffic and transportation planner Sam van Huizen said that change will divert some traffic.

“In order to alleviate some of the volumes we have right now that we’re seeing, this intersection will provide the alternative.”

Extending Quail Ridge Drive buys the city time to work on the long-term plan, which is to build a roundabout at the intersection of Braecrest Drive and 18th Street. He said the province wasn’t onboard with adding traffic lights to the intersection because of maintenance concerns and issues with trucks stopping on the hill.

This addition will help cyclists and pedestrians use the crossing more effectively and connect the neighbourhoods on either side of 18th Street.

The intersection with First Street is not proposed to see as dramatic changes, but traffic headed east on Braecrest will not be able to turn left anymore.

“We still have significant volumes there that could create a problem, so we’re limiting the left turn,” van Huizen said.

Instead, cars will have to turn left onto White Swan Street, then right onto Centre Avenue, where there are traffic lights at First Street.

The area where both Knowlton Drive and Bluebird Street both meet Braecrest will be rebuilt to make it one intersection connected with a roundabout, rather than two T-shaped intersections.

Braecrest Drive itself will see quality-of-life improvements as well. The proposed plan is to build sidewalks and multi-use trails on various parts of the road and add crosswalks.

A roundabout will also be built at the intersection of Braecrest Drive and Daly Crescent.

Overall, the goal is to address issues with traffic volumes and speed in the area. The suggestions are also meant to quell concerns over the lack of signals at either end of the road.

While the design likely won’t change too much, the city will still be accepting feedback on the functional plan for the next two weeks, van Huizen said. At this point, the planners are looking for “reaction,” which can be submitted online through a survey.

Area residents Robyn Little and Conrad Stott said their biggest concern is with pedestrians crossing at the intersection of 18th Street and Outback Drive. While they live on Outback Drive, Little said they like to walk on the paths in the neighbourhood Braecrest Drive runs through.

The lights at Outback Drive don’t change for pedestrians, which makes it hard to cross on foot, but that problems won’t be remedied by the proposed changes.

“We still don’t have a way to cross 18th Street from Outback as a pedestrian,” Little said.

She added that she was told the city can only build a pedestrian crossing if there is a sidewalk or path that meets the road, but there isn’t one at Outback Drive.

The next step with the Braecrest Drive corridor redesign is to submit the plan to city council for approval and for consideration into the capital budget, van Huizen said.

“There may be some headaches when it comes to construction or some change to a road being in a back yard that wasn’t necessarily there previously, but we’re trying to accommodate and be sensitive to those issues as much as we can, all while figuring out what the best option is for the city of Brandon as a whole.”

» dmay@brandonsun.com

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