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LETTER: Roundabout planners understand planning

I read with interest the letter to the editor in the April 3 PQB News ( Taxpayers and others face soaking from roundabout ).
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I read with interest the letter to the editor in the April 3 PQB News (Taxpayers and others face soaking from roundabout).

While by no means an expert in the subject, I offer some thoughts on the debate.

• Have planners considered the impact of high water and storms on the roundabout? Well, yes, they have, since all waterfront development is being done in accordance with the Waterfront Master Plan undertaken by the Town of Qualicum Beach over a two-year period. The conceptual design, readily available and publicized in the media, includes a protective, natural berm to diffuse wave action and return the waterfront to a more natural state than the current hard seawall;

• Pedestrian safety and a “horrific, 25 year failed experiment” with roundabouts — the Government of Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation states that “Roundabouts are generally safer for pedestrians than traditional intersections.” The City of Nanaimo observes that “Roundabouts are becoming more and more common across the country and in Nanaimo;” and

• The $7 million price tag is “buffoonery and foolishness” — the project is made up of three components: $1.7 million for a bicycle path and overlay from Village Way to Crescent Road; $1.7 million for the roundabout; and $2.2 million for Beach Creek and estuary improvement. A Government of British Columbia contribution of $1.4 million helps to offset the cost.

In all fairness to those involved in a public discussion of a major town investment, the planners and engineers involved have taken a professional and informed approach to advising elected officials. Council now has to decide on the relative merits of this project when considering other capital projects.

David James

Qualicum Beach