Fredericton’s Anticipated Wait for Their New Roundabout is Now Over

Over the summer, Fredericton’s construction was in full throttle with the building of the Victoria Circle Roundabout. This construction caused a lot of detours in the area, but as of the twenty-first those detours have finally ended.

The roundabout is placed in the intersection of Smythe Street, Brunswick Street, Pointe Anne Boulevard and Woodstock Road.

Roundabouts are becoming more and more common in the city of Fredericton. With this being the fifth roundabout. The city council is considering adding seven more. So, this is something residents are going to have to get used to.

This roundabout in particular wasn’t planned. Traffic Engineer of the City of Fredericton, John Lewis, explained that it started as a job where the underground infrastructure needed to be replaced. Sense the city was already digging up that area, they saw it as an opportunity to replace that intersection with a roundabout.

Roundabouts are seen as an efficient way to reduce traffic. The only downside with these circles is that not everyone understands how to use them properly.

There are five key rules for this roundabout, which are: slow down and yield to pedestrians, choose your lane in advance, do not switch lanes once entering the circle, yield to both lanes of traffic that are already in the circle and give trucks plenty of room.

Fredericton resident, Amy Floyd, shares her experience with the new traffic circle. “I went through it twice now, once I sort of went through half the section from Symthe and then over to saint Anne boulevard. The other time I came through from Woodstock road and I did get tripped up a bit cause I started off in the wrong lane and I thought it was a little bit narrow. It’s not a big circle really. So, I ended up going around one full turn again before I got off, but it wasn’t a problem.”

It is important to read the signs and paved markings to ensure that you are going in the right direction, once you are in a lane you cannot switch lanes. This is to ensure the safety of those around you.

This roundabout stands out from others in the city for its single-lane exits. These exits are in place to provide more safety for pedestrians. “This circle was designed for the safety of pedestrians,” says Lewis.

“The making of this circle has been very exciting.”