Mike Carpenter of Everett asks about a confusing situation for drivers looking to turn right from 112th Street SE onto 19th Avenue SE.
“There is a sign that says ‘Right turn on red yield to U-Turn.’ But the only time there seem to be people doing a U-turn (from northbound 19th Avenue SE) the right turn lane on 112th Street SE has a green right turn arrow. This is confusing and seems like a potential to cause accidents.”
Everett traffic engineer Tim Miller responds that it’s a compromise.
“The northbound U-turn and the eastbound right turn do indeed operate concurrently most of the time,” Miller said. “When the northbound left turn green arrow first starts there is a portion of time when the eastbound right turn has a red indication. During this red interval, eastbound right turns must yield to all traffic, including U-turns. The signs facing the eastbound right turn clearly indicate they are to yield to U-turning vehicles when they have a red indication.
“Because the U-turning vehicles share a lane with left turning traffic they cannot be a separately controlled phase. This left turn and the eastbound right turn operate concurrently for efficiency’s sake. If the eastbound right turn green arrow was not given, traffic congestion would increase dramatically. If northbound U-turns were prohibited, it would be a major impact to traffic needing to access the north side of Silver Lake. The current situation is a reasoned compromise.”
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