A new roundabout in Qualicum is raising concerns over cost and safety. (Town of Qualicum)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Water Cooler: Glass recycling, vaccine choice & roundabout options

Mar 5, 2021 | 5:08 PM

NANAIMO — The Water Cooler is NanaimoNewsNOW’s letters to the editor-style segment, featuring conversations about the news in Nanaimo and Oceanside.

This week’s feature focuses on a lack of recycling options in the Parksville and Qualicum region, what brand choice people will have for COVID-19 vaccine and a roundabout project in Qualicum on Hwy. 19.

Al P., Parksville: Glass recycle options. I refuse to drive to Nanaimo to deposit my used glass – unless the RDN pays me milage for it. As for what to do with glass – the province should wake up and start mixing ground glass into asphalt on our black highways so they reflect light at night making them safer to drive on. All highways on the prairies are light in colour for night driving – they use ground glass. There is a market so start using it.

NanaimoNewsNOW: Feasibility and infrastructure aside, the idea presented by Al is an interesting one. The recycling of glass is becoming increasingly challenging for several municipalities and governments keen on waste reduction must find solutions.

Whether that comes in the form of road rehabilitation remains to be seen. A 2018 study from ÉTS Montréal showed between 15 and 30 per cent of road building materials could be safely replaced by crushed glass.

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Under certain circumstances, the addition of glass could also help with drainage, combat black ice or frost buildup and the resiliency of the road surface.

The volume of supply to make something like this feasible is also unknown. A study in Ohio projected their supply was not enough for wide-scale use on local roads.

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F. Rowe, Nanaimo: Does anyone know which vaccine we will be getting? I feel this is crucial for elderly people to know. We don’t have time to “wait and see”.

NanaimoNewsNOW: Recipients will not have much of a choice on which brand of vaccine they receive.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said in her media briefing on Tuesday, Mar. 2, any vaccine offered at clinics “…is the best vaccine. All of the vaccines that we have available for use in Canada are safe and effective.”

She added B.C.’s vaccination plan was made around two approved candidates from Pfizer BioNTech and Moderna.

“If you are in our mass clinics, those are the vaccines we’ll be using and no, you won’t have a choice between Pfizer and Moderna. You’ll take the one that’s there in front of you and I encourage everyone to take the one there in front of you.”

A third product from AstraZeneca, which was recently approved by Health Canada, along with further vaccines will allow for more flexibility for public health.

“We can go into more places in the community, and we know from modelling studies and from the data that we have about who’s transmitting to whom that some of the key areas that we can use immunization to help stop transmission in our communities, that gets us to the end of the pandemic sooner.”

Unlike Pfizer or Moderna, the AstraZeneca vaccine can be stored at normal fridge temperatures.

We expect more information about which vaccine dose is provided will be made available in coming weeks after the single dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine was approved by Health Canada on Friday, March 5.

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A rendering of the new configuration of a three-way intersection in Qualicum, linking Memorial Ave. and Hwy. 19. (Town of Qualicum)

Sue O., Nanaimo: A roundabout at Qualicum would be an expensive 3.3 million at least. A set of traffic lights that have sensors under the road and a push to cross light for pedestrians and cyclists would be safer and much ,much cheaper. I see three crosswalks that would have pedestrians on all stopping highway traffic with no light in your picture. Looks both expensive and dangerous.

NanaimoNewsNOW: The cost comparison between roundabouts and traffic signals is fairly even upon initial construction. In the long term, however, roundabouts are seen as more favourable due to a lack of ongoing costs, such as maintenance.

Traffic lights must be managed and maintained whereas the upkeep on a roundabout is relatively minor. The Town of Qualicum said on the project’s website, “because traffic moves through a roundabout in a very efficient manner, it is possible that streets between roundabouts can operate well with fewer lanes, providing a savings in associated construction costs.”

As for safety, data from Transport Canada shows they can be extremely effective in limiting pedestrian incidents and other crashes.

When signalled intersections are changed to roundabouts, collisions with injuries drop 75 per cent, fatal collisions decrease 90 per cent and overall collisions go down 39 per cent.

Many collisions, particularly with pedestrians occur through right-angle turns, something which roundabouts virtually eliminate.

The project page is available on the Town of Qualicum’s website.

Join the conversation. Submit your letter to NanaimoNewsNOW and be included on The Water Cooler, our letters to the editor feature.

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