Below-grade traffic circles

Most, if not all, of the concerns voiced by delegations at the Jan. 14, 2008 special meeting of Guelph City Council, can be adequately addressed by having MTO adopt an interchange design not considered by either Stantec or MTO.
 
We don't need PARCLO's or diamond interchanges at all.
First of all because of the horrendous cost, secondly because of the need to expropriate houses and land, and thirdly because of the long construction interval involved.  And on top of that are the environmental issues.
 
The perfect solution is traffic circles, but not surface ones that MTO considered and rejected.
The answer for the Hanlon is below-grade traffic circles.
They can be constructed at Kortright, Stone and College for a fraction of the $50 million estimate for the current plan.
 
Below-grade traffic circles with ascending and descending ramps to/from the Hanlon allow for complete vehicle movement in all four directions, and in addition permit a vehicle that has missed its desired exit, to use one of the circles and reverse direction.
 
As currently planned, Kortright/Downey and College will pass under the Hanlon. Rather than building straight thru tunnels at these locations, plans could easily be modified to build circular tunnels, ie. below-grade traffic circles instead. While the cost would be higher, money can be saved overall by deploying the same design at Stone Rd., and eliminating the monster overpass/interchange presently planned for that location.
 
With below-grade traffic circles, few, if any, houses and property need be expropriated.
 
With a shorter construction period, greenhouse gases from the machinery can be reduced.
 
The solution for safety of pedestrians, is to build overhead walkways over the Hanlon at each intersection. Each should be constructed with side barriers to prevent rock throwing onto vehicles passing below.
 
MTO's  objection to this type of design, is likely to be, that there is insufficient distance between College and Stone, and Stone and Kortright/Downey to construct 'on' and 'off' ramps that are safe. With approximately 1 km between each of these main arteries, there should be ample space for ramps. The ramps can be straight, from the traffic circle to the Hanlon, allowing for faster acceleration to permit merging with Hanlon traffic. 'On' ramps from PARCLO's, being curved, do not allow for rapid acceleration until the vehicle reches the straight section just prior to entering the highway.
 
Below-grade traffic circles are the perfect solution to solve the Hanlon' s problems.
 
Click for a sketch.
 For more info on traffic circles go to www.roundabouts.ca
 
Barry Wrigglesworth