As most readers know, I’m not a fan of roundabouts, especially on highways. I was against the one the municipality opted to create on Queen’s Line at Merlin Road.
And after going through it last week, I am still against the damned thing.
I understand something had to be done at that intersection. Sightlines aren’t optimal there, and there is a fair amount of traffic along Merlin Road from both directions to go with the heavy traffic on Queen’s Line.
However, my thoughts were about the reality of putting Chatham-Kent drivers through something as foreign as a roundabout. We’re all used to stop signs and traffic lights to manage intersections. Not roundabouts. And especially not roundabouts at highway speeds.
The roundabout in place on Keil Drive South at Tweedsmuir Avenue West has been in there for several years. I go through it almost weekly, and pretty much every time I do when there is traffic, one of the other drivers is thrown for a bit of a loop (pun intended). They approach it extra cautiously, as if unsure how to proceed. This happened during my deliveries of The Voice last week. We were behind an SUV whose driver was intending to turn left onto Tweedsmuir, but appeared to initially almost head against the counterclockwise flow of the roundabout.
They ultimately completed the roundabout and escaped, heading in their desired direction.
Fast forward several hours. My daughter and I had made a trip to Windsor and were returning along Queen’s Line. It would be my first trip through the new roundabout.
“Ready to get T-boned?” I asked her in jest just after we exited Highway 401 to get onto Queen’s Line.
A few minutes later, as we headed north on Merlin Road, she looked at me and said, “You weren’t kidding.”
Yeah, we almost got clocked. My joke had nearly become prophetic.
I was thinking it would be interesting to see the response of Chatham-Kent drivers going through that roundabout. If there was an issue to be had, I figured it would come from a driver eastbound on Queen’s Line trying to enter the roundabout as we were going through it to head north on Merlin Road.
Nope. We didn’t even get that far. Instead, a tractor trailer approaching from the south on Merlin Road appeared ready to just force their way into the roundabout. It was wet and he didn’t appear to be slowing down to yield. So what if our vehicle was right in their path?
We got past the truck, but it was too close for comfort.
I was wrong, while being right. Wrong that a C-K driver would be the problem. It was a transport driver from God knows where. Right in that that roundabout is just asking for twisted metal.
For anyone wondering why I make fun of C-K drivers, I do so because of what I see on my daily short commute to work, or errand running. Improper turns, lack of signalling, aggressive driving, overly defensive driving…it all makes for a terrible combination.
Now put that combo into a roundabout on a highway.
Granted, the posted speed limit heading into the roundabout on Queen’s Line is 60 km/h, but it’s on a road where anyone obeying the normal 80-km/h limit is all but run over by the impatient drivers that fly down that roadway every day.
My concerns were reinforced the very first time I went through that roundabout. Sad.
The only way to get drivers to adapt to roundabouts is by having roundabouts for the drivers to adapt to. All in all it doesn’t take a lot of research to find roundabouts are by far and away safer than any other method of controlled intersections like lights or stop signs, as well as being significantly more efficient due to never needing to stop unnecessarily. A recommendation I have is campaigning for the city to put out PSAs concerning the proper usage of roundabouts so all drivers new and old can learn how to use single or multiple lane roundabouts. It’s an extremely simple concept that may seem confusing at first but really isn’t. Also the fact that you brought up almost being t-boned would usually mean in the case of a roundabout you pulled out in front of someone which would be improper usage on your behalf, however I could be wrong and I may have misinterpreted that segment of your article.
As much as it is beneficial to have people from many viewpoints to allow for everyone to have input on new traffic control methods, unfortunately I do believe that being anti-roundabout is simply an invalid stance. Saying they can be confusing could be valid for new users however as previously stated they are extremely simple.
Bruce was a quarter of the way through the roundabout (on his way to a three-quarter use, turning left onto Merlin Line) when the transport nearly pulled in front of him. He had the right of way, not the transport. As for being anti-roundabout, that stance is due to the observed habits of local drivers.
There is definitely an inertia against anything new even if it’s better. The problem is that driving is not an individual activity it’s Collective and we rely on the ability and understanding of other drivers to keep safe.
That ability comes through experience and understanding can only come when people accept what is real.
I drive to tilbury from Chatham from work and mark my words there’s gonna be an accident there.. I find. It harder to get on highway 2 from Merlin now cause ppl on highway 2 don’t slow down flying through the roundabout.. just makes everything more confusing.
Our spendthrift council needs to be rounded up and voted out in 2026
I’m coming up on 63 years old and have never had a problem at the Merlin Queens line intersection, the visibility has not been a problem (unless foggy). The round abouts are a safety hazard and from what I have recently the US are removing them for that reason.
Roundabouts are here to stay. You would never survive on the roads in the U.K. There is no right of way, really..everyone Just keeps up with the flow of traffic, and if it isn’t busy, easy-peasy..
Go thru it daily and find it far more dangerous now than ever before
Roundabouts have been in Europe for years, and they are all over this country. In a short drive anywhere from CK you will run into one, so maybe learn how to properly navigate a roundabout. It’s not some new concept that CK just invented, they are all over the place. They also make navigating an intersection very easy, especially when it is only a single lane roundabout. I go through that roundabout on Hwy 2 daily and the only problem I have is people who are so scared coming up to it they are braking unnecessarily to the point of coming to a complete stop and pausing when there is absolutely no traffic around.
Roundabouts offer a much more fluid transition and better management of traffic than a 4 way stop. Learn how to use one.