European traffic signs in Toronto

[ticky]

This is a puzzling one:

http://goo.gl/maps/euLd

Euro roundabout sign, but North American stop sign. Why would you even need to stop before entering a roundabout, rather than yielding, unless traffic were heavy?

Maybe they forgot to take down the stop signs once the roundabout was in place?

 

[the lemur]

Maybe they forgot to take down the stop signs once the roundabout was in place?

Probably. But the one down the street doesn't have stop signs or yield signs:

http://goo.gl/maps/W4BI

 

[ShonTron]

One of the stop signs on Banff looks to be newly installed. I doubt it's an oversight, probably just stupidity on the part of Works and Transportation or a meddling local councillor.

Oh, and stop signs are pretty much universal in shape and appearance, under both Vienna and MUTCD standards.

 

[RocketAppliances]

Yep.. these roundabouts are City work at its finest

The configuration some with/some without stop signs has been in place for at least 5+ years since their construction

 

[the lemur]

One of the stop signs on Banff looks to be newly installed. I doubt it's an oversight, probably just stupidity on the part of Works and Transportation or a meddling local councillor.

Oh, and stop signs are pretty much universal in shape and appearance, under both Vienna and MUTCD standards.

But the stop signs are all around this particular roundabout and not the one down the road.

I'm aware that stop signs are fairly universal, but they are not common in Europe, and certainly not found before roundabouts, even if this one has the blue Euro sign.

 

[junctionist]

The Banff Road roundabout is just strange. The same combination of a roundabout sign with stop signs now exists at Baby Point Road and Humbercrest Boulevard in the west end. The roundabout sign is a recent addition, so it's not in the street view imagery. But perhaps this case explains what happened. The city invested in a strange public realm improvement with the landscaped island in the middle of an intersection of side streets. All this decidedly misguided improvement achieved was confusion as to whether you drive roundabout-style to make a left turn after you stop or if you do the opposite and drive in front of the island, counterclockwise. (I never did that and it may sound ridiculous, but the island is small and the intersection is signed as a standard 4-way stop intersection so it's conceivable.)

These intersections should have been designed as real roundabouts. I don't understand what the justification for the islands was unless it was an amateurish attempt at streetscape beautification in upscale neighbourhoods. Perhaps people not stopping was the concern, but a real roundabout could have addressed that concern more effectively.

 

[reaperexpress]

The roundabout in my original post (Yeomans and Bainbridge) also has stop signs at all entrances:

But the one at Yeomans and McAllister only has stop signs on McAllister. Yeomans has no sign at all.

These roundabouts were built for traffic calming, and the city doesn't seem to consider them to be traffic control devices.

 

[the lemur]

The Banff and Baby Point roundabouts do seem more decorative than anything else.

The Swansea roundabout seems to do almost everything right - it's the meeting point of six roads, although no roundabout sign, and a yield sign on the approach from each side <b>except</b> Budgell Terrace, which has a stop sign: http://goo.gl/maps/W4BI

 

[reaperexpress]

The Swansea roundabout seems to do almost everything right - it's the meeting point of six roads, although no roundabout sign, and a yield sign on the approach from each side <b>except</b> Budgell Terrace, which has a stop sign: http://goo.gl/maps/W4BI

You linked to the wrong roundabout. The Swansea roundabout is here: http://goo.gl/maps/RJvN

As far as I'm aware, that is the only proper roundabout in the city.

 

[junctionist]

The roundabout in my original post (Yeomans and Bainbridge) also has stop signs at all entrances:

Another issue with this design is that visibility is reduced for drivers in terms of pedestrians crossing the street.

You linked to the wrong roundabout. The Swansea roundabout is here: http://goo.gl/maps/RJvN

As far as I'm aware, that is the only proper roundabout in the city.

It's a good roundabout that's enjoyable to drive through. I just wish they had invested something in landscaping. The island is rather bare, and there are none of the urban design details like stone block edging around the island that you see even in small cities in Europe.

 

[the lemur]

You linked to the wrong roundabout. The Swansea roundabout is here: http://goo.gl/maps/RJvN

As far as I'm aware, that is the only proper roundabout in the city.

Thanks. Huh, don't know why I did that. I meant to show this view: http://goo.gl/maps/fmHo

 

[the lemur]

This one comes close to being a proper one, although one of its three roads is a dead end:
http://goo.gl/maps/Utwp

And further to junctionist's comment about landscaping, it was fixed up by local residents:

http://www.thestar.com/news/fixer/a...affic-circle-into-a-blossoming-point-of-pride

 

[reaperexpress]

The yellow bike warning sign is more a warning of bikes crossing, and not a bike route sign.

I guess someone forgot to tell the Americans. I see that sign used as a bike route sign all over the States.

Here's an example I saw in Pasadena, California.

 

[reaperexpress]

This one comes close to being a proper one, although one of its three roads is a dead end:
http://goo.gl/maps/Utwp

That is indeed a proper roundabout, I simply wasn't aware of it. One thing I noticed there is the roundabout sign: it's a yellow circle with black arrows. I've never seen that before, it seems to be a compromise between the North American and European designs.

 

[the lemur]

I guess someone forgot to tell the Americans. I see that sign used as a bike route sign all over the States.

Here's an example I saw in Pasadena, California.

The 'share the road' message seems to imply it's more of a caution than an indication of a bike route. I've seen a few older signs around Toronto that were rectangular and white on green to indicate bike routes.