What's the deal with the Mckenzie Towne traffic circle?

[Northendzone]

i have heard that the city is going to convert the circle into a pentagon to see if that helps.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by You Need a Thneed

They have the gap there so that they can have an arrow pointing out the direction around the circle that you are supposed to go.

... followed by the ramp and the huge gap that you have to jump your car across. It's never a dull moment in the McKenzie Towne traffic circle, I tell ya.

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by You Need a Thneed

They have the gap there so that they can have an arrow pointing out the direction around the circle that you are supposed to go.

Fair enough, but in the rest of the world, the gap represents the direction that you're not supposed to go because it is a break in the route and the arrows/points are exits.

It looks like the 37th and Glenmore ones are more in line with other countries. I'd just like to see some consistency, that's all.

https://maps.google.ca/?ll=51.010974...196.73,,0,4.96

[Ironhorse]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Stang

Fair enough, but in the rest of the world, the gap represents the direction that you're not supposed to go because it is a break in the route and the arrows/points are exits.

It looks like the 37th and Glenmore ones are more in line with other countries. I'd just like to see some consistency, that's all.

https://maps.google.ca/?ll=51.010974...196.73,,0,4.96

That's the proper way to show it. I think the McKenzie Towne one is backwards; it's almost like they googled how to do a sign, got a picture from the UK and forgot that their traffic circles go clockwise.

[Northendzone]

if you drive by the sign at 80 kph or faster, it is a blur and you don't have time to read it or analyze the break is - you will be rewarded with extra airtime as you go over the jump......

[Traditional_Ale]

I don't get how a traffic circle is so confusing.

If you're going to the next exit, use the outside lane.

If you're going more than one exit, use the inside lane.

This way the inside lane should be able to always cross the outside lane to exit without getting t-boned.

[Tiger]

And it is changed back to normal

This is good news

[The Yen Man]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Stang

Does anyone know if this is a current photo of the sign (from the Herald article):



I remember the "gap" being on the wrong side years and years ago (as seen here), but figured that they would have fixed it by now. I live on the opposite corner of the city, so I don't drive it as frequently as many of you. I know that it isn't a big deal, but it seems that some people can use all of the help that they can get with this thing and the gap should be after the last exit.

I am pleased that they have come to their senses and turned it back into an actual traffic circle. Road markings don't work well in this climate, and the efforts and money spent on modifying and educating people about the "new" traffic circle would have been better spent educating them on how to use the existing one properly.

If that's the sign, I can see why it would confuse people. That gap should be on the left. The direction arrow should be at the of the line leading into the gap. That way you know it's supposed to go counterclockwise. This sign makes it look like there's some sort of break in the road.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by You Need a Thneed

They have the gap there so that they can have an arrow pointing out the direction around the circle that you are supposed to go.

I'm going to continue with my theory that some flunky at the city downloaded some clip art from a UK site, chucked an arrow on it, and submitted it to the sign printing company.

The break is silly, there is no reason for us to invent our own signing convention for traffic circles.

[BlackArcher101]

Seriously? The gap on a freaking sign can make someone become so confused they can't navigate a traffic circle? Same as the new signs which showed a path straight ahead, that confuses people to the point they can't navigate either? I can't fathom why either of those are such a big deal, it's obviously a traffic circle you are approaching and then driving to the right in a circular path.

[return to the red]

Originally Posted by BlackArcher101

Seriously? The gap on a freaking sign can make someone become so confused they can't navigate a traffic circle? Same as the new signs which showed a path straight ahead, that confuses people to the point they can't navigate either? I can't fathom why either of those are such a big deal, it's obviously a traffic circle you are approaching and then driving to the right in a circular path.

I was going to say the exact same thing, it's a freaking sign, some of you are reading way to much into this.

[Jimmy Stang]

When I brought it up, I did mention that it wasn't a big deal. But it just lacks consistency with other places in the world, and even other places in the city.

I'll agree that sign or no sign, gap or no gap, mutated or traditional roundabout, the strugglers will continue to struggle with it. Some people just aren't very good at reading signs, being aware of cars around them, or other basic driving skills.

[The Yen Man]

Originally Posted by return to the red

I was going to say the exact same thing, it's a freaking sign, some of you are reading way to much into this.

I dunno, put yourself in the shoes of someone who's never navigated a traffic circle. That person literaly has like a couple of seconds to look at the sign before he/she passes by it. If it's not made clearly, it can cause quite a bit of confusion IMO.

[OffsideSpecialist]

I've never seen an arrow like that on a sign for a traffic circle. It's like they drew it backwards and then just before putting it on the street said "oh crap, it's backwards. We better slap an arrow on there"

[Nyah]

Originally Posted by The Yen Man

I dunno, put yourself in the shoes of someone who's never navigated a traffic circle. That person literaly has like a couple of seconds to look at the sign before he/she passes by it. If it's not made clearly, it can cause quite a bit of confusion IMO.

Exactly. It also gives drivers the impression that driving in the outside lane is perfectly acceptable if you're going past the first exit to go straight through. A lot of people are going around the outside all the way to the third exit, not yielding to traffic on the left because they might not realize they have to, thanks to the signs. Again, there is no straight through in McKenzie Towne, there is a second & third exit that could be taken for straight through, so the signs are inaccurate and misleading.

The changes don't effect people who use the circle daily, it just makes it more challenging accommodating drivers who don't use the circle much.

[Rathji]

It is perfectly legal to drive the entire way around the traffic circle in the outer lane, as long as you yield properly.

I have no idea how that sign would indicate anything at all in regards to yielding though.

[Traditional_Ale]

Originally Posted by Rathji

It is perfectly legal to drive the entire way around the traffic circle in the outer lane, as long as you yield properly.

How can this possibly be true!? No wonder it's a cluster-fata.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Traditional_Ale

How can this possibly be true!? No wonder it's a cluster-fata.

Amazingly, it is. The law only states that cars in the outside lane must yield to cars in the inside lane.

And yes, it is stupid. It's like making it legal to make a right turn from the left lane of a straight road, saying cars on the right must yield. There are too many cases where even if you signal properly, the car won't have time to stop.

[Northendzone]

at the end of the day, i'd much rather have a traffic circle than lights to deal with.

[Komskies]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

at the end of the day, i'd much rather have a traffic circle than lights to deal with.

Even though it is more direct and a shorter distance for me to use McIvor to 130th, I've timed it and it's actually faster for me to go "out of my way" to use the traffic circle. The 5 or 6 sets of lights on 130th between Deerfoot and 52nd kill any gains from the shorter distance.