Motorists on 23rd Street may want to start checking how well their watches or in-dash car clocks are working.

The Lawrence City Commission tonight will consider a recommendation to prohibit drivers on 23rd Street from turning left onto Ohio, Tennessee, Vermont, New Hampshire and Rhode Island streets and Learnard Avenue. Left turns would not be allowed from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., a move designed to improve safety on the busy street that was filled with cars Monday afternoon.

City commissioners tonight are expected to approve recommendations to eliminate afternoon rush-hour left turns from 23rd Street at six intersections.

Commissioners are being asked to endorse a unanimous recommendation from the city’s Traffic Safety Commission to outlaw left turns between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday from 23rd Street onto Ohio, Tennessee, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island streets and Learnard Avenue.

If approved, the intersections would be the only locations where the city restricts left turns based on time of day. But David Woosley, traffic engineer for the city, said such restrictions were common in other cities.

“It seems to work pretty well,” he said. “It just depends on the motorists and how receptive they are to change. I’m sure there will be a bit of an adjustment period. It will take them awhile before they see the signs.”

City officials are recommending the change after the stretch of 23rd Street fared poorly in an annual safety audit conducted by the Kansas Department of Transportation. KDOT officials recommended the city make major changes to the section of road — including making it five lanes to accommodate a center turn lane at each intersection.

“That would take a lot of time, a lot of money and the city would have to acquire some property,” Woosley said. “We said, why not try to limit some of these turns to begin with?”

6News video: City to discuss no left turns on 23rd Street (11-26-04) Reader Reaction: Left turn question/poll 6News video: City considers adding left turn lane on Sixth Street City officials propose traffic-flow regulations (1-13-04) Limiting 23rd St. access advised (1-10-02) Study: Drives clog traffic on 23rd (4-19-01)

He said he didn’t have data on how many accidents had occurred at the intersections or how many left-hand turns were made at them.

Residents of the area said they wanted to give the proposed regulations a chance. In fact, some said they wouldn’t mind the city becoming even more restrictive on turns.

“It sounds fine to me,” said Melanie Hepburn, who lives on Tennessee Street. “I just wish they would do the reverse too. Make it illegal to turn left off of Tennessee Street onto 23rd Street. There are probably just as many accidents happening that way.”

Several business owners said they thought the idea was worth trying, if it would make the road safer for their customers.

“I think it would be a good idea because it sure bottlenecks traffic when somebody is trying to turn,” said Lawrence Sinks, an owner at C&G Auto Sales, 308 E. 23rd St.

Woosley said city officials would keep a close eye on the area to see how the afternoon left-turn ban worked. One concern is that more motorists would begin turning at nearby signal-controlled intersections, such as Massachusetts and Louisiana streets and Barker Avenue. As a result, those intersections and their turn lanes could become too congested.

Woosley also said it wasn’t likely the proposed restrictions would be a cure-all. He said city officials still had to think about expanding to five lanes as recommended by state officials.

“KDOT is recommending it based on safety concerns, so it is something that eventually should happen,” Woosley said. No price estimate was available for such an expansion.

City commissioners meet at 6:35 p.m. today at City Hall, Sixth and Massachusetts streets.