The Town of Oliver is testing the waters to see if it should turn the intersection of McKinney Road and Park Drive into a roundabout, but director of operation Shawn Goodsell said it could be two years before the revamp happens.
Before the Town can think about breaking ground, lands need to be swapped, negotiations settled, and the dynamics of new curvatures have to be engineered.
It’s not a sure thing that the intersection will be rejigged to be a roundabout, though Goodsell said it’s very likely there will still be a facelift.
The design of roundabouts are safer than four-way stops, and allow vehicles to pass through an intersection from any direction without stopping.
Many drivers from the region are familiar with the roundabout in Penticton near the South Okanagan Events Centre.
“The only negative thing about a roundabout is that it takes up more space, especially on roads with higher speeds,” he said.
“We have to make sure we have enough land around it to get the proper radiuses.
“But right now, everybody agrees that something needs to be done; its not the most useful intersection that we have in this town.”
DAN WALTON
Oliver Chronicle
