Lane markings on New Hampshire have caused confusion this week but will make for a safer road in the long run, city engineers say.
Through the wall-length windows of Central Data, store owner Nader Shami could watch a game of chicken every few minutes Thursday as drivers struggled to adjust to new lane markings in the 800 block of New Hampshire.
Southbound drivers found their two lanes reduced to one along with a center turn lane as they crossed Eighth.
Some drivers slammed on the gas in a mini drag race to get ahead of the next car. Others gave way, particularly if they were next to a truck. None seemed real sure about how to proceed
"You can see for yourself," Shami said. "Don't you think it is confusing?"
A new sign suggests that the inside lane is a left turn only lane, but the road itself has yet to be marked.
Shami said the intersection always has been a little bit dangerous, particularly when large trucks parked on New Hampshire obscure the stop sign at Eighth. The new markings have only made things worse, Shami said.
"We've changed something, and that throws everybody for a loop," said city engineer Terese Gorman. "It's going to take time."
Gorman said drivers eventually would catch on.
The changes were made to make the street safer, she said.
The previous setup, she explained, was less than functional, because the lanes were so narrow and close to the parallel parking along the curb.
"If somebody opens their car door without looking, potentially you can clip it," Gorman said.
Eventually the length of New Hampshire from the Douglas County Courthouse to city hall will have a center turn lane and just two lanes of traffic along with the parallel parking.
"The traffic volumes can be carried adequately with one lane each direction," Gorman said.
But changing the painting now on the sections that weren't recently paved would be expensive and difficult, she said.
So the changes will be made as the road sections are repaved. It would be done in the 900 block of New Hampshire if developers proceed with Downtown 2000, a commercial and residential development planned for that block.
Gorman doesn't expect the new markings to lead to accidents because traffic is going so slowly in the area.
"Those are all four-way stops," she said. "Everybody's coming to a stop."
-- Kendrick Blackwood's phone message number is 832-7221. His e-mail address is kblackwood@ljworld.com.
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