Image: M. Vanden Bosch / PML / Councillor Bud Mercer has asked city engineering staff to possibly modify the intersection due to safety concerns he brought up at Tuesday's Chilliwack City Council meeting.

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Keith Wilson roundabout

City to look at modifying Tyson and Keith Wilson roundabout due to speed concerns; property will need to be purchased

Oct 5, 2022 | 11:46 AM

CHILLIWACK — Councillor Bud Mercer has asked city engineering staff to explore possible modifications to the Tyson Road and Keith Wilson Road roundabout.

During Tuesday’s (Oct. 4) Chilliwack City Council meeting, Councillor Mercer said drivers going east to west through the roundabout don’t even have to adjust their steering wheel in order to keep a torrid pace of 60 kilometers an hour.

Unlike the newer, wider roundabouts on Prest Road or the heavily used Evans Road roundabout near the westbound Highway 1 off-ramp that spans several dozens of meters, the roundabout at Tyson Road and Keith Wilson is a fairly compact one that allows motorists to keep a higher than average speed as they travel through the intersection.

“My question is more about the roundabout at Tyson and Keith Wilson,” Mercer asked city engineering staff during Tuesday’s meeting. “Is there money or property to correct that roundabout? Right now, for me, it’s probably the most unsafe roundabout that we have in the city. If you’re coming north south, there’s no hope that you can merge into it because the people coming east and west, it’s basically a straight shot. They barely have to correct their steering wheel to keep up at 60 km through our roundabout. I don’t even think we should be calling it a roundabout. Can we correct that?”

Kara Jefford, deputy director of engineering for the City of Chilliwack, said the roundabout is something they have identified for future improvements.

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“We have two phases of Keith Wilson on the book,” Jefford said. “Tyson Road is the dividing line, whether through phase 1, which is up to Tyson, or phase 2, we do plan to make some improvements if we can purchase property.”

Councillor Mercer urged city staff to expedite things and not wait for a series of accidents to occur at the intersection.

“I would urge us to do it in phase 1,” he said. “I actually think it’s a safety concern. I’ve seen people try and pretend, like they do everywhere else in the city, merge into [the roundabout] and you just about get t-boned because nobody slows down east-west.”

Mayor Ken Popove echoed Mercer’s sentiments “That’s a good point,” he said.