The Yorkton Chamber of Commerce commends Yorkton City Council for approving a plan to construct a roundabout at the intersection of Darlington Street and Mayhew Avenue. At the Council meeting May 27, Council passed a motion to proceed with the construction of a roundabout with the provision that crosswalk lights and other features designed to “calm” traffic be added to the tender.
President Mike Stackhouse is pleased that Council made this decision. “Darlington and Mayhew are main arterial roadways in Yorkton and traffic counts have demonstrated that 4 way stop signs no longer handle the traffic properly at that intersection”, he said. “Installing a roundabout at the time the roadways are under construction is a long term, cost effective method for handling present traffic and increased future traffic.” Stackhouse noted that it is the north east area of the city which will see further development resulting in higher traffic volumes on both Mayhew and Darlington.
Juanita Polegi, Executive Director of the Chamber was in attendance at the meeting. She indicated the discussion about the roundabout was one of the liveliest and most impassioned she has witnessed in Council Chambers. “The discussion about the roundabout engaged many residents and in turn, they contacted Council members. Safety was of the uppermost concern of each of the councillors and many of the electorate,” she said. “The addition of extra safety features to the roundabout ultimately helped the motion to pass.”
Construction of the roadwork on Mayhew Avenue was scheduled to begin in 2019 but has been delayed until 2020 as Council explored the cost of the roundabout. The Chamber maintains that the extra cost, estimated to be $180,000 (prior to the addition of the extra safety features), is money well spent as the roundabout is an investment in the city’s future growth.
The Yorkton Chamber of Commerce is “the voice of business in Yorkton” and represents over 470 members.
