Walking in Waterloo Region

[tomh009]

As for the "'only' an extra minute at every crossing" argument, if the intent of our transportation plans is to get more people out of cars, then how does adding those minutes to a trip encourage more people to walk/cycle instead of drive?

I don't think any of our roundabouts are in highly walkable/pedestrian-friendly areas.  The Homer Watson/Block Line roundabout sees a fair bit of pedestrian traffic, but that's because of the nearby school.  In St Jacobs, or on Ira Needles, there is usually nary a pedestrian to be seen at any of them, so I think the detour will not become a major issue for many people.

(In pedestrian/transit-oriented Tokyo, major street crossings are often by pedestrian bridges, which effectively cause a pedestrian detour and require the use of stairs -- yet I have never heard anyone complaining about them.)