As finances allow, the addition of turnout lanes to accommodate buses in Lawrence would be both a traffic and public relations boon.

Although local voters overwhelmingly approved additional funding for the T bus system in the form of a higher sales tax rate last year, some residents still doubt the value of a bus system that they think costs too much for the ridership it currently serves.

Those doubts, however, can be fanned into full-fledged animosity for local drivers who find themselves caught behind a T or KU on Wheels bus that has nowhere to stop except in a lane of moving traffic. Motorists behind the bus are forced to stop and wait while riders get on or off the bus, not to mention choke on the diesel fumes when the bus fires up to return to its route. Not wanting to wait, many motorists on four-lane streets dart into the left lane, sometimes without sufficient regard for traffic, creating a hazard for themselves and other drivers.

Additional bus turnouts would ease both traffic and driver frustration, and the city should add them whenever it’s practical. A request for federal stimulus money to build turnouts was rejected, and with the many street projects currently awaiting city attention, turnouts shouldn’t be a top priority. However, it only makes sense to accommodate turnouts in new construction, such as this summer’s Ninth Street project and the upcoming reconstruction of Kasold Drive.

The city has made some significant progress in realigning routes and providing better coordination with KU on Wheels, but adding enough buses and routes to make the T attractive options for large numbers of local motorists still seems a long way off. In the meantime, adding bus turnout lanes when possible should at least improve the T’s image with many Lawrence drivers.