Halifax is looking for ideas on rerouting a confusing intersection near the Halifax Common, which has been baffling drivers through 150 years of vehicular advancements, from the horse-and-carriage to today.

The intersection connecting Windsor Street, Chebucto Road and Cunard Street "has been considered for re-alignment since the 19th century," the city says in its request for proposals.

If you're driving into the city along Chebucto Road and wish to continue "straight" across Windsor Street, you actually have to turn right so you're pointing at a red light, continue along for a few metres and then turn left onto Cunard Street through the crosswalk.

Those trying to navigate "straight" along Cunard have to make the same manoeuvres, but in reverse. A Needs Convenience store occupies one corner; St. Antonios church sits on a second corner and has a parking lot on the opposite corner.

Halifax's 'quantum intersection'

Tristan Cleveland, an urban planner who lives in the area, describes it as Halifax's "quantum intersection."

Tristan Cleveland said the city must fix the intersection. (Twitter)

"That intersection is the only place I've ever seen where a car can simultaneously be turning right, turning left, and going straight at the same time," he said Thursday. "That struck me as a really magical thing, and to capture that the only word I could come up with was quantum, where a particle can be in more than one state at the same time."

In a 2014 article for Spacing Atlantic, a magazine on urban planning, Cleveland joked, "What is it like to experience the life-death uncertainty of Schrodinger's Cat? Enjoy that crosswalk!"

But he recently saw a near-accident in one of the crosswalks that drove home how dangerous the confusing crossing can be.

This intersection must be fixed now. Just watched person almost hit by car trying to beat light. Someone'll die here <a href="https://t.co/U7utzjd4dK">pic.twitter.com/U7utzjd4dK</a> —@LUrbaniste

He saw a driver enter from Cunard, but get confused.

"When they get confused, the reaction is to look for the first opening, gun the gas, and try to get out of the confusing situation," he said.

The car drove straight at a person entering the crosswalk, but luckily skidded to a stop in time. "I nearly woke up and saw first thing that morning someone losing their life," Cleveland said.

"If you sit at that intersection, you will watch a flurry of bizarre, dangerous incidents happening between drivers, cyclists and pedestrians."

A 'preventable collision' waiting to happen

He's glad the city is fixing it, as he said if someone dies, it won't be an "accident" but a "foreseeable and preventable collision and tragedy."

He says if the city could buy the Needs parking lot it could re-route Chebucto Road so that it angles through the parking lot and straight into Cunard. A roundabout could work too, he said, but that would rule out ever putting a bus lane along that route.

He said if Halifax does go for a roundabout they should build it with cyclists in mind.

Halifax said the odd intersection "presents operational issues and safety concerns" and needs to be fixed. It's taking professional proposals until Oct. 5.

Taso Koutroulakis, manager of traffic management, said each bid will feature three options to fix the "skewed and offset" intersection.

"At least one of the options should consider a signalized option, the other a roundabout option, and the third option — something they come up with," he said.

The preliminary designs will be considered until March. The winning design will be in place by 2017 or 2018.