Yorkton City Council has decided the future of the intersection with Darlington St. and Mayhew Ave.
On Monday night the council voted to construct a roundabout with pedestrian signals. Mayor Bob Maloney, Councillors Randy Goulden, Quinn Haider and Aaron Kienle voted for the motion. Councillors Darcy Zaharia, Mitch Hippsley and Ken Chyz voted against it.
“I feel they're safer and I’ve always supported that measure,” said Maloney. “We have two others in the city and I think they work great.”
It took three council sessions to reach the final vote. The main issue of contention was the safety of having a roundabout at the intersection—which is close to two schools—or having an all-way stop.
“If people actually have to stop for pedestrians to cross the street [than] I believe that is safer than looking out for a car that has to slow down,” said Chyz.
Chamber of Commerce President Mike Stackhouse spoke to the council about the issue in April.
"You can put traffic lights in or you can go with the roundabout,” he said. “The traffic light program was extremely costly [and] the roundabout [wasn’t as] much when compared to a four-way stop.”
Those in the area to whom CTV News spoke said that change was necessary.
“There is quite a bit of traffic here at this corner,” said Loretta Herman, who lives down the street from the intersection, saying that it is especially busy in the morning and evenings when children leave for school.
Angie Kowalchuk, who works in the area, said that she thinks it’s “a good idea. It will speed up traffic.”
The debate began in April when the city administrators advised that the current four-way stop had become insufficient for the growing traffic. That roadwork was delayed by the debate.
The city will begin looking for a construction firm in January and construction is tentatively scheduled to begin next spring.
