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Changes are coming to lane configurations and traffic flows at First Street and Sixth Avenue downtown. The intersection is shown here before work started on the Towne Square Project. (CHAT News File Photo)
In front of Towne Square, city hall

Downtown street to reopen Friday with changes to traffic patterns

Sep 9, 2021 | 11:05 AM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – There will be changes to how traffic flows on Sixth Avenue SE and at the intersection in front of city hall when it reopens on Friday.

The city says motorists driving northbound on Sixth Avenue between First and Second Streets will have two lanes, down from the previous three.

The left lane will be for left-hand turns onto First Street and going straight to Finlay Bridge. The right lane will be for right-hand turns onto First Street.

Southbound motorists coming from Finlay Bridge will have a dedicated lane for left turns onto First Street, while the right-hand lane will be for those travelling straight through on Sixth Avenue or turning right onto First Street.

Traffic signals will be changed so those turning from First Street will have advance left-turn arrows to turn either north or south onto Sixth Street.

Image Courtesy City of Medicine Hat

In August the city announced the commonly-used U-turn from First Street onto South Railway Street would become a thing of the past.

A double-solid yellow line and an extension of the median on First Street will soon be in place to reinforce the change.

First Street will be reconfigured to allow for parking stalls for food trucks. All the changes are part of the development of the Towne Square at the 603 First Street lot.

Funding for the Towne Square project is coming from the provincial government’s Municipal Stimulus Program, developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.