Fredericton — The city of Fredericton has approved a motion to install bleachers at the Smythe Street roundabout. Council believes that the change could boost tourism and generate revenue for the city.
Despite attempts to educate the public, roundabouts remain the most common places for vehicle collisions in the city. The Smythe Street roundabout was the most likely place to end up in a collision in 2018 and the numbers for 2019 are already high.
Rather than reduce the number of accidents, city officials believe that they can capitalize on a viewing area for anybody who wants to sit down and wait for a car crash. Along with the seating, the city plans to build a concession stand and beer tent to maximize their earnings.
Mayor Mike O’Brien praised the plan. “Really, it’s the same model that NASCAR uses. You charge people to watch cars go around in circles for hours on end, hoping for a crash.”
The mayor also addressed questions about whether the fanfare would result in more distractions in an already tough place to navigate. “We surely hope so, we expect that the number of spectators will be higher with more collisions — we might even remove the existing signage or redirect traffic through it if things slow down for us.”
New Brunswickers are already getting excited for the addition, including Doug Farris of Doaktown. “I’m planning on bringing the whole family down for opening day. If it looks like enough fun we’ll even load the kids up in the back of my pickup and take a few turns through it ourselves.”
Construction of the added facilities is expected to be complete before the end of June at a cost of $2.7 million. The city expects Hanwell, New Maryland and Oromocto to each pitch in $1.2 million since a project like this benefits the entire region.