Abstract Manager

One of the most rewarding aspects of our industry is creating lasting improvements to community safety, mobility, and network performance, particularly when there is an opportunity to introduce innovative solutions. However, even well-supported innovations can encounter significant public resistance when change outpaces familiarity.  The public reluctance to embrace change on the City of Ottawa’s Trim Road Widening project created a significant roadblock in the project development, leading to a temporary set back in the pace of innovation.

In 2010, as Robinson Consultants initiated the Trim Road widening project, roundabouts were considered an emerging alternative to traditional signals, with only a few adopted within the City.   In the early stages of the design, the opportunity to accelerate the adoption of roundabouts through the development of the City’s first ‘roundabout corridor’ was identified, with the potential to construct eight roundabouts along the 13km widening and realignment project.   A transportation analysis and feasibility assessment confirmed roundabouts could be employed as a viable alternative to signals, however, when this alternative was presented to the public, it was met with significant opposition.  Despite the operational and safety benefits that roundabouts provide, an organized campaign against the proposed corridor, spearheaded by the local Community Association, ultimately led to scaling back the design to include only two roundabouts, with a third to be constructed in the future.

While Trim Road did not become the City’s first true roundabout corridor, the roundabouts that were constructed clearly demonstrated their benefits, helping to build public acceptance and playing a key role in securing support for the nearby Brian Coburn Boulevard corridor, which now includes seven roundabouts.  Additionally, Robinson Consultants has been able to take the lessons learned from the Trim Road experience and apply them in our public consultation efforts for roundabouts in other municipalities and in the more recent adoption of protected intersections and active transportation facilities in the City of Ottawa.  These lessons will continue to be invaluable when consulting the public on innovative solutions around active transportation, intersection treatments, and road safety that depart from the status quo.