Limiting left turns on portions of 23rd Street has improved traffic flow there so much that regulators now are considering similar turn limits on Iowa Street.

Lawrence’s Traffic Safety Commission will meet at 7:30 p.m. Monday at City Hall to consider prohibiting left turns off Iowa Street between Harvard Road and Bob Billings Parkway during morning and afternoon rush hours.

“Just go south on Iowa Street in the afternoon and get behind someone who wants to turn left, and you’ll understand the need for it,” said Jim Woods, the traffic safety commissioner proposing the idea. “Traffic gets backed up past Harvard.”

The policy would be similar to one put in place in 2005 prohibiting left turns off 23rd Street between Learnard Avenue and Ohio Street during certain times. Feedback on that change has been “overwhelmingly positive,” City Traffic Engineer David Woosley said.

But concerns are mounting about the Iowa Street proposal because some residents think banning left turns there would encourage more traffic on Harvard Road, which runs by Hillcrest School, 1045 Hilltop Drive.

“You are routing traffic by a grade school when parents are trying to deliver their children or pick them up,” said Robert Lewis, who lives in the affected area at 1105 West Hills Parkway.

Plus, Lewis said stopping residents from turning into the area will make them travel through a “maze” to get home because there are few straight roads in the area near the university.

Woosley said routing traffic by the school is not ideal. But he also said the stretch of Iowa Street in question had seen its share of accidents because of traffic stopping to turn.

That portion of Iowa Street does not have a center turn lane. Woosley said there were 31 accidents from 2003 to 2005 at the four intersections included in the proposed turn ban area.

“There seems to be a potential problem either way we go,” Woosley said. “It’s not as clear of a choice as we had on 23rd Street.”

The four streets that would have left-turn restrictions are Orchard Lane, Oxford Road, Stratford Road and University Drive. The prohibition would be in place from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Woods said he would be willing to drop the request for the morning hours if that would make school district officials more agreeable. Hillcrest Principal Tammy Becker previously expressed concerns about the no-turning zone, but attempts to reach her for comment were unsuccessful.

Other items on the Traffic Safety Commission agenda include:

l A request by a neighborhood resident to install traffic-calming devices on Eighth/Ninth Street between Kasold Drive and Lawrence Avenue. Woosley said speeds on the street, which switches from Eighth to Ninth Street because it is not straight, meet the warrants for traffic safety devices, such as traffic circles or speed cushions.

But Woosley said the Traffic Safety Commission wants to hear if there is broad-based support from neighborhood before recommending the project to city commissioners. Costs for the project haven’t been determined because it is uncertain what type of traffic-calming devices would be installed.

l A request for a midblock pedestrian-activated traffic signal on 11th Street between New Jersey and New York streets. Woosley said he is not recommending the project because the number of students crossing the street in the area do not meet the federal guidelines for installing a traffic light. But neighbors in the area have expressed concerns that crossing 11th Street is dangerous for students.

Woosley said Traffic Safety Commissioners can approve the request although it does not meeting federal guidelines. The signal likely would cost about $25,000, he said.

The Traffic Safety Commission acts only in an advisory capacity. All the recommendations it makes will be forwarded to the City Commission for final action.