Councillors approved the traffic circle in February with a projected cost of $1.75 million. It has now increased to $2.25 million.
On July 14, Orléans Ward councillor Bob Monette put forward a motion to waive the rules of procedure to revisit the issue, but lost the motion 11 to 9. "You win some, you lose some, and in this case we lost,” he said.
Monette said he spoke out against the idea after residents expressed their concerns over the safety and effectiveness of the traffic circle. It will be the first two-lane roundabout in the City of Ottawa. "I don't think it's a good idea to put the largest traffic circle in Ottawa in a place where people aren't used to it," Monette said.
He said city staff pushed the idea, and according to a transportation committee report released in January, the majority believes traffic circles are useful in controlling traffic and increasing safety in high-volume areas.
River Ward councillor Maria McRae opposed introducing traffic circles in her ward, but is now a supporter, Monette said. "I hope I am proven wrong, that they will work, but we will have to wait and see."
He said he would have preferred to put the money towards burying overhead wires on St-Joseph Boulevard, an expensive and difficult project that has been on the back burner for years.
The councillor originally brought the suggestion of a traffic circle to council in December after the Heart of Orléans BIA proposed the idea.
The transportation committee report stated that due to a short deadline on government stimulus money, if the roundabout plan was not passed ‘Plan B’ would be only minor landscaping throughout the corridor. “The BIA, consultant and staff all agree that (Plan B) is not preferred as it will have minimal positive impact … as compared to the St. Joseph Boulevard / Jeanne d'Arc Boulevard roundabout,” the report stated.
Fred Sherwin, candidate for Orléans Ward in the upcoming election, said he feels Monette has "flip-flopped" on the subject.
In the Dec. 11 issue of the Ottawa Citizen, Monette said the roundabout could be a "better bang for our buck." He voted against the roundabout in February, after residents voiced their concerns.
Sherwin said he disagreed with the tactic. "I would have said to the BIA, let me talk to the residents first and get back to you before bringing the idea to council," Sherwin said.
Monette said the majority of the BIA members wanted to go ahead. "As a member I expressed my concerns at the meeting but I wanted to give it a fair chance and see what the community had to say."
When the proposal passed in February, three east-end councillors, including Monette, Rob Jellett and Michel Bellemare, voted against the roundabout.
Sherwin said the councillor should have introduced amendments to the project, to include studies examining safety issues and impact on traffic on nearby streets, as well as to install flashing lights at pedestrian crosswalks. "The current councillor did not introduce any amendments and I think this was a mistake." "I also wonder how much work the councillor did to lobby the other councillors to change their votes,” Sherwin said. “I would have been working the phones non-stop."
Drawing from funds approved for now-defunct projects elsewhere in the city, an additional $800,000 was unanimously approved by city council earlier this month to cover the escalating costs of the roundabout and for streetscaping initiatives.
Construction on the traffic circle is set to begin early next month, and finish by October.
