The following is an open letter to Lord Mayor Gary Zalepa and Regional Coun. Andrea Kaiser.

Your continued support for a roundabout in St. Davids just amazes me. You were elected to represent and support the electorate of NOTL, which you are not doing in this case.

The council has told the region it does not want this roundabout, yet you continue to go against them and a significant number of the town’s residents.

I have a copy of the environmental study for the roundabout. To start with, the study area is flawed, because it only covers the St. Davids urban boundary, yet this intersection affects almost every citizen of the town.

The report is over 150 pages of fluff, which does not prove one way or another the best solution for this intersection.

It does not address the truck traffic for the grape growers or farmers of the town or the increased truck traffic for the now-expanding again St. Davids Cold Storage.

The roundabout in Virgil is too small in diameter to properly handle a tractor-trailer making a left-hand turn. This was reported just after its construction was completed.

The inside rear tires of the trailer have to run up on the skirt or curb of the inner circle. This is extremely hard on the tires and running gear of the trailer. This is poor design.

According to the drawing I have of the proposed roundabout for St. Davids, it is to be 40 feet smaller in diameter than the one in Virgil. This makes absolutely no practical sense.

A modern traffic circle is not appropriate for the historical community of St. Davids. When you study the history of St. Davids it has as much or perhaps even more historical significance than the Olde Town.

Why did they not put a roundabout at the intersection of Four Mile Creek and Highway 55 in Virgil?  I have been backed up to as far as Crossroads Public School from this intersection.

A roundabout does not slow traffic down, as required in St. Davids, but speeds it up. There are already speeding issues. The reason for the community safety zone and the speed camera at the school.

A four-way stop controls the speed in all directions. Traffic lights control the speed in only two directions. A roundabout controls the speed least of the three choices.

I have travelled through many roundabouts across this country. Many are well designed, some are not. This one is not.

A roundabout is not the right choice for this intersection. All that is required is some improvements to the existing four way stop with bicycle lanes and crosswalks. Add stop signs on the two turning lanes to slow speeders down.

Open Line 9 from Creek Road to Tanbark and Tanbark from Line 9 to Line 8. Re-direct traffic around St. Davids via Line 7 and Concession 6 & 7.

This is not responsible management of our town.

Kip Voege
NOTL