Attachment C <br />endix 2 <br />Attachment B <br />right turns at higher speeds, increasing the risk to pedestrians. Reducing the kerb <br />radius creates a tighter turn and results in motorists making right turns at lower, and <br />therefore safer speeds. Other important benefits of reduced kerb radii are shorter <br />crossing distances for pedestrians and improved sight distances between pedestrians <br />and motorists. Larger kerb radii have been determined to be helpful for older drivers. <br />They also are needed for safe turning by larger vehicles such as fire trucks, school <br />buses, moving vans, and delivery trucks. <br />Mini-circle <br />Mini-circles are raised circular islands constructed in the centre of residential street <br />intersections. Intended to reduce vehicle speeds by forcing motorists to manoeuvre <br />around them, mini-circles may be appropriate at intersections where traffic volumes <br />do not warrant a signal or stop sign. A series of intersections along a local street <br />could be treated as part of a neighbourhood traffic improvement programme to <br />improve pedestrian safety and also beautify the neighbourhood. Tight kerb radii <br />should accompany mini-circles to discourage motorists from making high-speed <br />turns. Mini-circles with cuts in `splitter' islands make crossing easier for pedestrians, <br />especially those in wheelchairs. Larger vehicles such as fire trucks and school buses, <br />can be accommodated by creating a mountable kerb on the outer portion of the <br />circle. Mini-circle landscaping should not block sight distance - groundcover, short <br />shrubs, or trees with tall canopies may be used. Yield controls should be used. <br />Modern roundabout <br />A modern roundabout is built with a large, often circular, raised island located in the <br />centre of the intersection of a street with one or more crossing roadways. Motorists <br />enter the circle, travel around it, and then turn onto the desired street. All entering <br />traffic yields to vehicles approaching from within the roundabout. A roundabout is <br />intended to be applied where vehicular delay can be maintained at or below levels <br />experienced by stop or signal controlled intersections. Because of this, they can <br />sometimes be installed on two-lane roadways in lieu of a road widening to four lanes. <br />Modern roundabouts can be relatively friendly to pedestrians if they have splitter <br />islands on each approach to the roundabout and are designed to slow traffic prior to <br />entering the roundabout. The splitter islands can serve as a refuge for pedestrians and <br />make crossing safer. There is lingering concern, however, about safety for visually- <br />impaired pedestrians at roundabouts. Accessible pedestrian signals and truncated <br />domes placed at splitter islands can assist visually impaired pedestrians with gap <br />selection and `wayfinding: In larger roundabouts, an off road bicycle path may be <br />used to allow bicyclists to use the pedestrian route. <br />Pedestrian refuge islands and raised medians <br />Raised pedestrian refuge islands, or medians, at crossing locations along roadways, <br />provide another strategy to reduce pedestrian exposure to motor vehicles. Also called <br />`centre islands' or `pedestrian islands, refuge islands and medians that are raised <br />(i.e. not just painted) provide pedestrians with more secure places of refuge during <br />street crossing. This simplifies the crossing manoeuvre for pedestrians by creating <br />112 <br />Page 258 <br />