| Advertisement |
|
|
Update: There's no longer confusion at the intersection of Kellogg and Woodlawn. The City of Wichita changed out the light that had a right arrow in order to turn on red. The city says the light was never intended to block drivers from right hand turns, so the problem is fixed.
---------------------------------------------------------
December 6, 2012
Take a right on red or don't take a right on red, that's the question drivers in east Wichita are asking. A new traffic light at Kellogg and Woodlawn is causing some confusion.
What would you do if you saw a red arrow in the right lane? Would you make the turn or not?We found many drivers who did.
"I see no sign that says not to, so I am always under the understanding that unless it says not to you can," said one Wichita driver.
Wichita police tell us, under the law, a red arrow means you can not make a right until the light turns green. Unless there is a street sign that says otherwise.
But that's not what city traffic engineers wanted at the intersection near Kellogg and Woodlawn.
"We intended for them to turn right on red," said City Traffic Engineer Paul Gunzelman. "We have a lot of right turns there, that was the whole reason why we did the project so that folks wanting to turn right weren't blocking the people that wanted to go through."
Gunzelman says the city got several calls from confused drivers. On Friday morning, a city crew will fix the problem
When the city makes the change, the green arrow and the yellow arrow will stay the same. But that red arrow is going to go away, replaced by a red ball to end the confusion
That will make the red light look like the others.
Once the red arrow is gone, drivers will legally be able to make a right on red. As long as there's no traffic coming their way.
Some traffic lanes will be blocked at that intersection Friday morning, when the city crew makes the change. But it shouldn't take very long to switch out the light.