The stop sign has been removed from First Street SE where people turn onto the Trans-Canada Highway. (Photo Courtesy Ross Lavigne)

By Brian Konrad

Merge, not yield

Motorists still getting used to changes at First Street and highway

Sep 15, 2021 | 12:28 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB — A key change at the intersection of First Street SE and the Trans-Canada Highway is confounding some motorists, leading to several minor fender-benders.

Unlike the previous intersection, there’s no longer a stop sign at the intersection for traffic looking to head west on the Trans-Canada Highway from First Street.

Instead, drivers are to merge into the flow of traffic.

That’s where there’s a problem.

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Traffic Sgt. Gerald Sadlemyer with the Medicine Hat Police Service says motorists need to make sure they’re not blindly pulling in front of a semi, but they also need to get up to speed quickly.

“With regular traffic, it’s a merge lane; take your right turn, get up to the 80 kilometre speed by the end of it and you merge over into that right lane”, explains Sadlemyer.

Sadlemyer stresses “it’s not a yield sign, it’s not a stop sign.”

“What I see at that intersection is a lot of what I’ll label Sunday drivers that people are coming to a stop, leading to a couple of rear-end collisions with minor damage,” says Sadlemyer.

Sadlemyer says that happens when the second vehicle is ready to merge and do what they’re supposed to do properly, but we still have people stopping at that interchange.

He says motorists approaching the intersection from the west also need to be aware, slow down and use the zipper merge technique to allow drivers to merge from First Street.

They can also move to their left if able.