By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
Starting Sunday, traffic flow at the intersection of Lincoln and Lake streets will be altered to accommodate southbound vehicles turning left, the Department of Transportation said today.
Early Sunday, the department will repaint southbound lanes on Lake Street at the Lincoln Street traffic light. At present, the left lane is used for cars turning left, and also for cars headed straight toward the airport. At the same time, the right lane has been used only for cars turning right into downtown.
Following the new work, the left lane will be for left turns only, and the right lane will be for through traffic and for right turns onto Lincoln Street, DOT spokesman Sam Dapcevich told the Sentinel this morning.
At present southbound cars are blocked while cars ahead of them, wanting to turn left, yield to oncoming traffic from the direction of Centennial Hall.
With the new arrangement, “if one car needs to turn left or two cars need to turn left, they’re not going to hold up 40 cars behind them that are trying to go straight,” Dapcevich said.
The request for the change came through the Sitka Planning Department with involvement from city Public Works, too, he noted.
DOT controls the intersection because Harbor Drive, which begins at the traffic light, is a state highway.
Parking on the west side of Harbor Drive will be unaffected by the repainting, Dapcevich said.
The department aims to complete the change Sunday morning, weather permitting, but the job might stretch into Monday, the DOT spokesman said.
“During this time, traffic control measures will be in place to allow vehicles to pass through the work zone as efficiently as possible. We kindly ask drivers to anticipate short delays and exercise caution when driving in the work zone,” Dapcevich said in an emailed statement.
