And around and around we go.
The next step in what is already proving to be a contentious process to construct the St. Davids roundabout is in the books.
The Niagara Region’s public works department held an open house at White Oaks Resort & Spa in NOTL on Nov. 13 seeking public input on visual designs and aesthetics for the project.
Region staff hoped for a minimum of 40 people to offer feedback on the new infrastructure to be located at the corner of Four Mile Creek and York roads in the heart of St. Davids.
In the end, double that number of people registered for the workshop, held from 5 to 7 p.m.
“Interest was high,” said Stephanie Huppunen, the region’s manager of capital projects and transportation, adding she had to turn down some requests for seats, citing space and staffing limitations.
She was, however, pleased to see many people engaging with the process.
“It just shows the investment in the community, that they’re interested and they want to be heard.
“I think that will definitely help focus how we move our design going forward.”
While the mood was light and the atmosphere almost bubbly at the meeting, the roundabout comes with a number of concerns from within the community.
A petition against the St. Davids roundabout was started just over a year ago by the St. Davids Ratepayers Association.
It had accumulated 870 signatures so far.
The cost, safety and access to area businesses are the big concerns.
But not for everyone.
St. Davids resident Gerry Berry, who attended to give his feedback, called it a “great idea.”
“I happen to agree with the roundabout,” he said.
“The reality is the traffic dictates the need for something more than a four-way stop. It’s the best alternative.”
He is hoping that it will be a grand design and was eager to share his opinions on the features he feels it needs to possess.
“I just don’t want it to be a plain Jane kind of roundabout,” he said.
“I think there’s a lot of history in the little community that we live in and it would be a good opportunity to represent (that history),” he added.
Rachel Pearson isn’t as enamoured with the project as Berry, but wanted to take part in the consultations to get a first-hand look at what the roundabout could look like.
She works at the post office just metres away from the corner where it will be located.
“I’m not for it,” she said, taking the opportunity to counter claims from proponents of the project that it will improve safety for drivers and pedestrians.
“I think there’s actually nothing really wrong with the way things are. I work right there. I don’t see accidents,” she said.
“As a pedestrian, I walk to work often and I walk my dogs (in the area) and I see all the older people who come to the post office every day. It’s like their outing,” she added.
“I think the roundabout will deter them from walking there, and then they’re gonna get their cars and it’s just gonna create more traffic.”
Huppunen and staff didn’t address the criticisms of the project during the meeting.
“The purpose of this is for the engagement of what the design will look like, and what place-making space they want to see,” she said.
“As far as the contentious items, I’m perfectly happy to have one-on-one conversations with people outside of this event tonight.”
She added there is a page on the region’s website for the St. Davids roundabout project that includes her contact information, stephanie.huppunen@niagararegion.ca.
As for questions about when the public will see the results of the meeting’s input, Huppunen said it will take a couple of months to bring all the pieces together.
‘It’s a matter of taking everyone’s design and digitizing them,” she said.
Following this, the region will post the results online and ask the public to vote on which idea for the roundabout they feel best represents the community.
