Hon. Don MacKinnon, Minister of Transportation and Public Works, today announced plans to improve traffic flow in the Town of Montague, by implementing a two-way left turn lane system on Main Street North, between Gaul Street and Queen's Road.
A two-way left turn lane is a single lane reserved in the centre of a road for exclusive use of left turning vehicles and is NOT to be used for passing or through traffic travel. The two-way left turn lane is marked by a single direction no-passing marking on each edge of the lane and the placement of designated left turn arrows within the lane.
The Minister said the Department had to make improvements to deal with higher traffic volumes, due to a large increase in commercial development in the town, particularly on Main Street. The Minister added he was very pleased with the level of cooperation between the Town of Montague, commercial business operators and the Department.
"All parties have a vested interest in the safe, efficient movement of traffic and by working together, we have come up with a system that we feel will work very well," the Minister said.
A similar lane configuration is found on Route 6 in Cavendish and has proven to be an effective method of improving both through and left-turning traffic. This type of two-way left turn lane configuration is also found in a number of other towns and communities throughout Atlantic Canada.
The Department also recently activated the Town of Montague's third signalized intersection, located at the entrance to the Down East Mall and the new Atlantic Superstore.