MEDICINE HAT, AB — Changes are coming to a set of traffic lights on 13th Avenue Southwest.
Starting Tuesday, changes to traffic signal operations will be implemented on the avenue from Trans-Canada Way Southeast to the Trans-Canada Highway South ramp intersection.
“It’s a challenging area,” explained Stan Nowakowski, manager of engineering with the city. “It’s one of the busier corridors. It has about 20,000 vehicles per day. Also, other challenges in that area are the three intersections that are in a fairly short distance.
“You have a lot of vehicles driving through there, you also have competing movements, people driving through the corridor, coming in, going off the corridor, so it’s a challenging area. So, we looked at what we could do to improve the traffic flow through there, and we came up with some changes we’re going to make to the traffic signals.”
Nowakowski says the changes will be made to signal timing at the three intersections to ensure the green light time is longer. The changes will initially be in effect during evening traffic peak time (between 3 and 6 p.m.).
The city says it will closely monitor the traffic flow, and signal changes could be extended to other peak hours once the results of the change are reviewed.
Nowakowski says he’s hopeful the changes to traffic flow can also improve safety in the area.
“I think anytime we can flow, it improves the traffic safety,” he said.
In addition to the traffic signal changes, the south and east side crosswalks of the 13th Avenue and Trans-Canada Way intersection will be removed, though pedestrians will still be able to used the north and west side crosswalks.
Signs will be posted in the area advising people of the changes, and motorists are reminded to drive with caution.
