Round and round

A roundabout could solve Picton Town Hill traffic issues

A fix to the Picton Town Hill intersection— a roundabout—could be on the horizon. During a second public meeting held last Tuesday evening, BT Engineering Inc. presented findings from its Environmental Assessment Study that evaluated several alternatives. A roundabout has been selected as the preferred plan to fix challenges at the three-legged Town Hill intersection in Picton.

In 2021, a Transportation Master Plan (TMP) was completed and considered a broad range of alternatives to address the safety and operational concerns at the intersection. At the time, the intersection was identified as a “hot spot” location in the road network analysis. The intersection is a Y shape intersection with unusual intersection control—Picton Main Street and County Road 49 are stop-controlled while Bridge Street is free-flow.

According to the TMP, “Challenges that arise from the current configuration and operation of the intersection include confusion among all users, safety concerns for all users, suppression of walking and cycling, delay for all road users, and the concern that Bridge Street is steep enough that trucks could roll backwards if they were to stop at this intersection.” Also, the southbound left-turn movement (County Road 49 to Bridge Street) is currently experiencing high delay and capacity issues in both peak hours, even though it is not the heaviest movement.

In order to accommodate a roundabout, the properties at 316 and 318 Main Street would need to be acquired and ultimately demolished. As well, the large hydro pole on the sidewalk on the south side of the intersection would be replaced with buried service connections to 2 Bridge Street and the removal of two on-street parking spaces on Main Street would be required.

The presentation highlighted the benefits of a roundabout as including shared capacity between all legs and shorter queues, opportunities for central landscaping and beautification of downtown and the ability to accommodate future growth and development within Picton.

In 2021, the municipality began work identified by the Ministry of Transportation to improve safety. That project included line markings, a retaining wall and cantilevered sign and was funded 90 per cent by a provincial Connecting Links grant. The total cost was $296,498, of which $266,848 was paid by the provincial funding program.

The next steps will be a review of public comments and to finalize recommended plan. A 30- day public review period of the project file report will take place. Following the completion of the EA, the County will explore funding opportunities with the MTO for the connecting link and consider a construction project to present to council in future budget years.