Plans for the O'Brien Road roundabout from a 2015 environmental assessment for an extension to Hall Avenue
Renfrew Town Council had a straightforward talk about a proposed roundabout during their meeting on Tuesday, November 22nd.
Public Works Director Mike Asselin presented designs for road work along O’Brien Road from Mask Road to Wrangler Road, which adds the roundabout at the Wrangler intersection.
The idea comes from a 2015 environmental assessment for plans to extend Hall Avenue to connect with Wrangler Road.
That assessment suggested the use of roundabouts on both Hall Avenue and the O’Brien/Wrangler intersection as a means to improve the flow of traffic on some of the busiest roads along one of the entrances into town.
Asselin notes that roundabouts offer a few advantages for traffic control.
Council had a few questions regarding the project, including on the impact a roundabout would have on transport trucks passing through. Asselin notes that modern designs already take them into account.
Asselin also fielded questions on how the roundabout would handle the flow of traffic being so close to a traffic light. He mentioned that they’ll also be working on the intersection of O’Brien and Mask Road to make sure things don’t get too busy near the entrance to property that includes Walmart and Canadian Tire.
Council agreed to send out a proposal to the Ministry of Transportation to see if they can get a Connecting Link grant of up to $3 million to cover most of the project’s estimated $4.857 million cost.
They expect to hear back from the MTO by March.
(written by Kasey Egan)
