Dear Editor,
The Highway 11 and Highway 20 intersection has been improved with the addition of dedicated left turn lanes.
As a former AMA driving instructor, I was pessimistic that this would solve the problem. The flaw with the intersection is twofold.
Firstly, after a brief green turning arrow the light in the turning lane turns green, but the sign above the signal, in very small letters, allows left turns from Highway 11 to Highway 20 on solid green when the intersection is clear. The sign is too small! With a dedicated turning lane drivers may think green still means they have the right of way at all times.
Secondly, drivers going west on Highway 11 get a warning light indicating that the light will turn red. I have observed that most drivers have two choices depending how far back from the warning light they are. They either slow down to stop or speed up to get through the light. Speeding up does not bode well for eastbound cars turning left onto Highway 20, especially since vehicles going west are coming over a hill.
A tentative solution to try would be to continue with the green turning arrow but then to have the turning light turn red instead of green. Most drivers understand red, I hope.
Ray Kowalski,
Sylvan Lake