Travellers Rest -
Three years after its completion, some drivers are still trying to get around it - literally and figuratively.
The traffic roundabout at the junction of Route 1A and Route 2 in Travellers Rest has been a source of debate among truckers and other motorists since it opened in 2006.
Drivers complained this first - and so far only - traffic circle on P.E.I. was built too small, earning it the nickname, "the bagel".
Frank Barry, owner of Prince Freight Lines, still maintains the roundabout is undersized, but said it's become commonplace for his drivers.
"It's still too small. It hasn't grown any in three years," he said. "We're kind of getting used to it. It's functional and there doesn't seem to be any major accidents or incidents. Nobody here really talks about it anymore."
Another traffic circle may be on the horizon - this time in Charlottetown at the corner of Allen Street and Mount Edward Road.
Depending on who you talk to, Summerside's roundabout could serve as an example of either how to or how not to construct one.
Mack MacLean, a dispatcher with Connors Transfer, said drivers were initially resistant to the circle, but those complaints are now nonexistent three years later.
"The drivers thought it was a bit too tight and too confined at first, but it's always the way with change - people have to get used to it," MacLean said.
"It slows down the traffic and makes things safer. You just have to be careful, conscious and mindful of what you're doing."
The traffic circle roadway is 18 feet wide at its smallest section, wide enough for the Province's snowplows, which carry blades about 12 feet wide, to navigate in the winter.
There is also a 22-foot-wide concrete skirt around the roundabout's median, designed so the back end of trucks can drive over it without damage to tires.
Still, Barry said the roundabout takes its toll on the equipment and can test a drivers' skill.
"You have to be more precise to get around it. The sharper the turn, the harder it is on the equipment," he said.
"If someone makes a mistake it's very hard to correct yourself because it's such a short distance around."
