Canadian Roundabout Design Guide Approved

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

A guide on the application and design of roundabouts in Canada has been approved by the Transportation Association of Canada’s (TAC) Chief Engineers’ Council.

Initiated from work done by the Joint Roundabout Subcommittee, and recommended by the Geometric Design Standing Committee, the guide will provide information and guidance related to the planning, design, construction, operation, maintenance and safety of roundabouts in Canada, for use by both agencies and practitioners. 

The Guide will serve as a companion to TAC’s Geometric Design Guide for Canadian Roads (1999), and will include the following chapters:

  • Chapter 1 – Introduction explains the purpose of the Guide, describes a roundabout, and introduces the reader to different categories of roundabouts.
  • Chapter 2 – Considerations in Roundabout Application provides an overview of performance characteristics of roundabouts and discusses the various trade-offs of installing roundabouts versus other types of intersections.
  • Chapter 3 – Planning explains the rationale for using roundabouts and provides information regarding circumstances when roundabouts are more likely to be appropriate. Public involvement tools and techniques are also discussed.
  • Chapter 4 – Operational Analysis provides methods for analyzing the operational performance of each category of roundabouts in terms of capacity, delay, and queuing.
  • Chapter 5 – Safety discusses the expected safety performance of roundabouts.
  • Chapter 6 – Geometric Design presents geometric design principles, elements, and applications for roundabouts.
  • Chapter 7 – Traffic Control Devices provides guidance regarding use and application of signs, pavement markings, and traffic signals at roundabouts.
  • Chapter 8 – Illumination discusses principles and recommendations regarding the lighting of a roundabout, along with recommended lighting levels.
  • Chapter 9 – Landscaping presents recommendations for landscaping and streetscaping at roundabouts, including guidance regarding the use of art and other aesthetic treatments.
  • Chapter 10 – Construction, Rehabilitation and Maintenance offers guidance for constructing, rehabilitating and maintaining a roundabout.

Hatch Mott MacDonald conducted the research work for this project.

Funding partners include Alberta Transportation, British Columbia Transportation and Infrastructure, Manitoba Infrastructure, New Brunswick Transportation and Infrastructure, Nova Scotia Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal, the Ministry of Transportation, Ontario, Prince Edward Island Transportation, Infrastructure and Energy, le Ministère des Transports, de la Mobilité durable et de l’Électrification des transports du Québec, Cement Association of Canada, Transoft Solutions, Halifax Regional Municipality, Regional Municipality of Waterloo and the cities of Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, Mississauga, Moncton, Montréal and Winnipeg.

A notice will be posted on TAC’s website once the resulting publication is available for sale in TAC’s Bookstore.

 


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