2 Friday, January 19, 2018 brooklintowncrier.com There are a few distinguishing characteristics separating adults from elementary school-age children which researchers and engineers sometimes overlook. Children have no money. If they weren't owned by adults, they'd be homeless. While adults are left to fend for themselves, children have an endless array of groups, laws, and policies to protect them. For instance, shouting at a child in hockey practice is construed by some as being abusive. However, shouting at a parent in a rink to keep quiet is acceptable even if it leads to a "settling of accounts." Adult decisions aren't often questioned; children's decisions are always so. Unpredictable kids As we sage adults know, children are unpredictable and fallible in ways that baffle us. While parents teach them basic rules of crossing streets, no one can account for judgements which can be interrupted by...squirrel!...just about anything. Children, as a rule, cannot be trusted all the time. It's why they're too young to drive, to vote, to quit school or legally buy tickets to a Rod Stewart concert. This brings me to the roundabout suggestion for the intersection of Watford St. and Nathan Avenue, one of the Town of Whitby staff proposals for traffic control. (Note: Oddly, a survey about the issue has only gone to residents in the immediate area even though affected students come from over a kilometre away.) Drivers don't get roundabouts for the longest while. Pedestrians are puzzled by them. Most importantly, young children will be miffed. Some may find the island in the middle a tempting challenge too good to pass up even though crosswalks tell them otherwise. Twice daily, Watford and its surrounding streets are parades of youngsters, trekking to or from either Winchester Public or St. Leo's Catholic school, unaccompanied by adults, which is called independence, a good thing. Notorious intersection Various studies state roundabouts are safer for vehicles and even for pedestrians. One American site points out, "A roundabout near a school zone may be a form of traffic calming since vehicles are forced to slow down and yield to traffic. With proper design...a roundabout allows school buses, passenger cars, pedestrians such as school children, and bicycles to share the road safely." It provides a youtube video of a roundabout near Kitchen- er's St. Mary's High School, citing it as an example of one that works. The video shows high schoolers marching across the crosswalks while vehicles stop. Yet a March, 2017, Kitchener newspaper report calls it "a notorious roundabout" and one of the region's most dangerous intersections. Before they become teens, children are well dressed waifs, darling little humans who, as pedestrians, put their trust in crossing guards and the patience and courtesy of drivers. Nearly always, this works out just fine. Nearly. Always. A roundabout may very well be a suitable traffic calmer for vehicles and older pedestrians. Is it worth nearly a half million bucks to wonder if it will work with little kids? Around a Roundabout Less than Half the Picture By Richard Bercuson "Proud to be a Brooklinite" Founded in 2000 and published 24 times per year. Editor, Richard Bercuson 613-769-8629 editorofbtc@gmail.com The Brooklin Town Crier is locally owned and operated and is a publication of Appletree Graphic Design Inc. We accept advertising in good faith but do not endorse advertisers nor advertisements. All editorial submissions are subject to editing. For advertising information, contact: 905.655.7642 Email: mulcahy42@rogers.com Next Issue: Friday, February 2, 2018 Deadline: Friday, January 26, 2018