By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

Part of the 2018 Street Maintenance Project in Hays will include restriping a portion of Canterbury Drive from four lanes to three lanes.

The diamond grinding work, awarded to Diamond Surfaces Inc. of Rogers, Minnesota, includes grinding Canterbury Drive from 13th to 27th Street. Restriping of 27th Street will remain the same four lanes. However, Canterbury will be reduced to three lanes.

Hays Projects Director John Braun says the change will provide a safer driving environment and will allow the traffic signal at 22nd and Canterbury to function properly.

“It will be similar to what we did on 13th Street and Hall Street in the recent past,” Braun told city commissioners last week. “It aligns the north and south through-lanes at 13th Street.”

Braun called the “how and why of the 22nd and Canterbury traffic signal operation still a bit of a mystery” in terms of engineering and design.

“It was readily apparent shortly after the light was installed that in order to get opposing green left turn arrows from both directions at the same time you can’t have the two lanes going through.”

Braun said staff talked several times about reducing the traffic pattern to one lane in each direction at the 22nd and Canterbury intersection with left turn lanes.

“What we opted to do was to only give the green arrow westbound because that’s where the majority of the left turns were going,” he explained. “You can’t provide protected turns with two through-lanes without having a dedicated left turn lane.”

Mayor James Meier pointed out the situation is similar to 13th and Vine as it was prior to 13th being restriped to three lanes.

“I’ve had this discussion with a lot of people who want us to just turn the left turn light on to fix it. But I don’t think they’re remembering how 13th and Vine used to function,” Meier said.

Previously, 13th and Vine operated with “split phasing,” according to Braun.

“That’s where northbound traffic on Vine would get a green light and green left turn arrow and they’d go. Then they would have to stop and southbound on Vine would get the two green lights, whether they were turning left or not,” Braun recalled.

“I personally think 13th and Vine functions much, much better now than it did before,” Meier added.

Commissioner Shaun Musil expressed concern about the change to three lanes on Canterbury, particularly at the 13th Street intersection used by many young drivers going to and from Hays High School. “I don’t agree with it but I do trust staff and you believe it will work better,” Musil said. “I drive that street every day and don’t see big problems with it. This really makes me nervous what we’re doing there. But we’ll see.”

Commissioner Henry Schwaller IV pointed out traffic accidents on south Hall Street, which passes three schools, were reduced after Hall was restriped to three lanes.

Musil remained worried about Canterbury. “I think there’s going to be issues. I hope I’m wrong,” he said.