Blind woman says roundabout is dangerous

A visually impaired Dieppe, N.B., woman says a new roundabout has made it too dangerous for her to cross the road.

Abby Bourque-Coyle had walked the same route for years to take her son to school. Last fall, the city created a traffic circle in the neighbourhood and she has stopped walking her seven-year-old son to school because of it.

Bourque-Coyle said the Gould Street roundabout is often blocked by a snow bank and the crosswalk obscured by snow. The real danger is that the roundabout makes it impossible for her to tell if cars are moving toward her or past her. Vehicles also use the circle recklessly, cutting over the raised central section rather than driving around it. 

Bouque-Coyle is legally blind, with only eight per cent vision. She said the shortest alternate route to her son's school takes double the amount of time.

"I think I have the right to be able to cross in my own neighbourhood. I've lived here for twenty years. I like to walk; I can walk to work in ten minutes from my house," she said.

The City of Dieppe said her concerns are being taken seriously.

"We've opened the door. There are a few solutions that are possible. We just need to sit down with everybody and make sure we take the right one," said spokeswoman Isabelle LeBlanc.

The Canadian National Institute for the Blind said it has made its own recommendations to the city.

"Moving crosswalks further away from the roundabout so pedestrians with vision loss would be better able to assess the traffic flow before crossing," said Denise Coward.

The city said putting distance between the crosswalk and roundabout would encourage people to jaywalk at the roundabout.

Bouque-Coyle said if the city had consulted CNIB before installing the roundabout, she would still be able to walk her son to school. She said the city has known about her concerns for months, but nothing has been done to make it safe.

The city said it needs more time to find a solution.