[clasher]

Yeah, that's a pretty narrow stretch of road looking at it now on the maps... it's been a long while since I've been down that way. Got buzzed the few times I have ridden down that stretch.

[KevinL]

Offramp from 7/8 eastbound to Ottawa South is closed as roundabout construction continues.

[Canard]

I happen to catch them installing some of the spans today on the new Fountain St. Bridge!

Awesome to see new Fountain St. Bridge girders going in! Cc: @RegionWaterloo @WRConnected #wrAwesome #BikeToWorkDay pic.twitter.com/gunSymHrdm

— iain (@Canardiain) May 17, 2017

[clasher]

Hanging iron!

[Canard]

I wondered about my terminology there. Is that the kind of work you do, Clasher?

[clasher]

Ya, I do ironwork. Usually more of the industrial maintenance kind at stel mills, cement plants and occasionally the car plants, more money there. New construction is fun and clean though but weather can really ruin a paycheque.

[KevinL]

On schedule, Homer Watson has been closed at Ottawa. Can already see a distinct increase in traffic on Strasburg.

[KevinT]

You had me at 'on schedule'.

[Canard]

Here's CTV's coverage about it:

http://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/ottawa-stree...-1.3431386

This is going to be a really neat project once it's wrapped up, I think!

I was in Woodstock yesterday and when I mentioned to the person I was speaking with that I lived in Waterloo Region, the first thing she said "Roundabouts!" It makes me smile that we're so well-known for them with out-of-towners. She just about fell off her chair when I mentioned we had a couple of 3-lane ones now!

[panamaniac]

I like the roundabouts, and I understand why this dreadful intersection is being reconstructed as a roundabout, but I continue to be concerned about the ability of some local drivers to cope with a roundabout of this scale and traffic volume. I hope to be proven wrong, but in the meantime I'm just thankful that roundabout accidents tend to the "fender bender" variety.

[Canard]

The massive 3-lane one is working very well at Franklin/Pinebush. There are lots of close calls, sure, but I think I've counted all of 2 fender benders there since it opened and I go through it twice a day.

[panamaniac]

I wonder how Ottawa/Homer Watson will compare to Franklin/Pinebush in terms of traffic volume? The biggest benefit I can see wrt Ottawa/Homer Watson is that it will stifle the excessive speeds that plagued both streets with the standard intersection.

[GtwoK]

The biggest problem I've seen with roundabouts in the region are people who use the outside lane to take a "left" (aka, 3rd exit). Many a time have I had to slam on the breaks as I was going straight through and all of a sudden someone cuts across me to go left. I don't know whats so hard to comprehend about that for drivers in the region, or if the problem is just that they're assholes.

[Canard]

I made this mistake several times within the first hour I was driving in France in 2008. Finally one of my very polite friends said "I don't think you're doing this right." There was no signage but I just stayed in the outside lane thinking I was being a nice driver. Now of course I know better!

The Black/White lane signs at the entrance make it pretty obvious where you need to be. I know the exact scenario you're describing, though.

At the Franklin/Pinebush one you have to really watch for people going straight through from the interior lane, which is perfectly allowed, when entering at 90 degrees from them.

[timc]

The biggest problem I've seen with roundabouts in the region are people who use the outside lane to take a "left" (aka, 3rd exit). Many a time have I had to slam on the breaks as I was going straight through and all of a sudden someone cuts across me to go left. I don't know whats so hard to comprehend about that for drivers in the region, or if the problem is just that they're assholes.

This happened to me, once, the first time I went through the roundabout on Franklin at Pinebush. Now I know better. The thing is, if it happens once to everyone who ever drives through there, then that is a lot of occurrences.