P.E.I. building five new roundabouts

Five roundabouts are under construction on Prince Edward Island this summer, and drivers are getting some lessons on how to safely circumnavigate them from the provincial government.

The province has set up a website with an online tutorial, giving step-by-step directions for cars, trucks, pedestrians and cyclists.

"You yield to traffic that is already in the roundabout; you yield to pedestrians just as you would at any other intersection and you signal your intentions," Andrew Sprague, of the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal, said Monday.

Traffic inside the roundabout has the right of way, he said, and travels counter-clockwise. Trucks should straddle both lanes, to prevent cars from passing.

There are places for pedestrians to cross, Sprague said, but they should make sure it's safe first.

"Make eye contact with the driver that is approaching the crosswalk to ensure that that driver sees you, that you see them, and both of you know what is going to happen next, which is you crossing the crosswalk," he said.

The two roundabouts on Riverside Drive in Charlottetown will be dual lanes.  The city is also building single-lane roundabouts on Allan Street and Belvedere Avenue. In O'Leary, there will be a single-lane roundabout.  

In addition to provincial government website, the City of Charlottetown is setting up a mock roundabout on Saturday, June 19, outside the Charlottetown Mall to give drivers some practice time before the real roundabouts open.

Drivers appear to be unsure about whether they will like the changes.

"If it's anything similar to the one in Summerside," June MacDougall said, " I kind of get a little bit confused when I get in there."

"It's something different, and Islanders don't like change. We'll just have to wait and see, is my opinion," Brian Allen said.

But Charlie Doiron is more optimistic:

"I think once everyone gets used to them, they'll be fine. I mean, they are in other places," he said.