Richmond residents frustrated by roundabout construction

Roundabouts are designed to keep traffic flowing, but residents in the village of Richmond are fed up with the ongoing construction of a new roundabout in the community and the delays it is causing.

The new roundabout is located at Perth Street and Meynell Road. Residents say construction started in the summer and has been slow moving ever since.

"Every single day we have to wait for 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 20 minutes, to just go to work and to our day-to-day life," says Katyoon Ghaffari, who has lived in the village south of Barrhaven for two years.

"The people here, they are not happy at all. We cannot live like this."

The project is a four-way, one lane roundabout. Currently, due to construction, only one of the four directions of traffic can move at one time, causing traffic backups in the other directions.

On Oct. 17, Rideau-Jock Coun. David Brown issued a memo online regarding the roundabout project following numerous complaints from residents.

Within it, Brown says that the project is being led by developer Caivan, and not by the City of Ottawa.

Brown says this is because the roundabout is being funded by development charges from new build homes in the area, which is required by Caivan's Fox Run community.

The memo goes on to say that the reason construction is taking longer than expected is due to the improper design of the roundabout's curb, which are too narrow to accommodate large vehicles and farm equipment.

"Some deficiencies were identified with curbs, particularly on the East and West approaches to the roundabout," wrote Brown.

"They are too narrow for some large vehicles, including farm vehicles. This is a concern that I have been raising with Caivan, Cavanagh, and engineers at the City since the design stage of the roundabout well before construction. I have also raised this concern several times during construction," he says.

In its own statement to CTV News, Caivan said, "The roundabout design was directed and approved by the City of Ottawa based on City standards and specifications."

Roundabout construction at Perth Street and Maynell Road in Richmond. Nov. 7, 2024. (Dylan Dyson/CTV News Ottawa)

Brown says corrections are being made to the roundabout to fix the curb issues.

"I am surprised that the city would allow such ridiculousness to be ongoing and happening," said Richmond resident Lindsay Beall, who lives in a neighbourhood directly attached to the roundabout.

"The width of the traffic circle itself is very small. And the egress points, like the ins and outs, are extremely small to navigate," she noted.

Residents also raised concerns about access to the neighbourhood on the north side of the roundabout via Oldenburg Avenue, and said the only way in and out at this time is through the roundabout, which causes concerns for safety and the ability of emergency vehicles to access the area.

"A couple of weeks ago, my son injured his leg, so I had to take him to the hospital as an emergency, but I waited here. I waited here and they did not let me to go," says resident Sabior Celik.

Beall says she has waited up to 30 minutes to access her neighbourhood and recalls one night when she had to park at a business down the road and walk home when construction would not let her through.

"I think it's just a constant frustration, like as a mom, as an employee," says Beall. "To be able to get in and out of your neighborhood should be easy. It's not a privilege. It's a right."

In Brown's Oct. 17 memo, he outlined the completion date for the roundabout would be the week of Nov. 18.

"It is such an impact on someone's way of life, and it just needs to stop," says Beall.

"They've got to get it done. They work at night; they work during the day. I am very confused what is still going on."

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