City installs more traffic calming measures

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This article was published 21/11/2023 (912 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Chicanes have been added to the intersection of Durum Drive and Neepawa Drive and a mini roundabout installed at the intersection of Princess Avenue East and Douglas Street as part of the City of Brandon’s vision zero traffic safety initiatives.

The measures are temporary, according to a release the city sent out on Monday afternoon, but they will help the city decide what permanent changes could be made to those streets and other problem areas in town.

In both cases, the new features consist of small white poles that the city refers to as delineators being bolted to the pavement, with new signs helping to direct traffic.

These streets previously had their speed limits reduced as part of the speed reduction pilot project.

Durum Drive was the first street participating in the project on the stretch between 26th Street and Aberdeen Avenue, with the city later deciding to lower limits in the Parkdale neighbourhood, Princess Avenue East and the streets bordering Rideau Park.

According to Sam van Huizen, a transportation and traffic planner for the city who also heads up Brandon’s Vision Zero Task Force, the chicanes on Durum Drive were installed a couple of weeks ago, while the mini roundabout was put in place last Friday.

“We’ve had a chance to collect some data and test to see what compliance is looking like with just signage, but we wanted to take a step further and see what the effects of traffic calming are in areas along those segments where we don’t see good compliance,” van Huizen said in a phone interview.

“We want to test the effectiveness of these traffic calming measures as well as citizens’ reaction and motorists’ reaction to something new along there.”

Since they were installed, van Huizen said some residents have reached out with questions and concerns, leading the city to put out answers to some frequently asked questions on Monday.

For instance, the release states that the mini roundabout is navigated like a full-sized version.

Some larger vehicles might be unable to make left turns there, but the street is not part of the city’s designated truck routes. There is, however, enough room for Brandon Transit and city vehicles to make turns if needed.

Pedestrians looking to cross the street around the mini roundabout are advised to use the existing crosswalks and traverse from corner to corner.

When it comes to the chicanes, the release states that there is enough room for one vehicle in each lane to traverse them simultaneously, but they must slow down at the pinch point.

“Drivers can either yield to the vehicle passing through the intersection or can pass by oncoming vehicles as space allows,” the release states.

Data from both the new measures will be taken into account when the speed limit pilot project concludes in spring 2024.

On top of measuring how effective they are at slowing down motorists, the city’s operations department will also keep an eye on what maintenance of those areas are like after the measures are installed.

Should the data show that the measures were not successful or less successful than hoped, van Huizen said the city might have to consider other methods.

Because they’re temporary, it will be relatively easy to change tack. Van Huizen said that some measures like speed bumps are difficult to install on a temporary basis.

Residents with feedback on the new traffic calming measures can call van Huizen at 204-729-2105 or email him at s.vanhuizen@brandon.ca

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