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Spring Street 2-way traffic to begin Dec. 1

By Lynn Hotaling and Carey Phillips
Spring Street, Sylva, NC
Herald photo by Lynn Hotaling

Department of Transportion personnel erected this sign Nov. 18 at the intersection of Main and Spring streets. The sign informs downtown motorists that the lower portion of Spring will become two-way as of Wednesday, Dec. 1.

Beginning Wednesday, Dec. 1, westbound motorists will be able to access Sylva's Main Street one block sooner than usual.

That's when Department of Transportation personnel expect to open the lower section of Spring Street to two-way traffic, said assistant traffic engineer Mark Teague.

Spring Street connects Mill Street with Jackson Street. Currently, it is two-way between Jackson and Main, and one-way between Main and Mill. DOT officials plan to make all of Spring Street two-way next Wednesday. DOT personnel erected a sign last week to inform downtown motorists of the impending change to traffic patterns.

The prospect of adding two-way traffic on Spring Street to an already confusing Allen/Mill/Spring streets intersection triggered safety concerns on the part of Sylva Police Chief Jeff Jamison.

Motorists unfamiliar with the downtown area often seem puzzled by the right turn signal at the Spring/Mill intersection that allows vehicles to travel the wrong way on Mill Street for a short distance before turning left and crossing the railroad tracks to Allen Street.
Jamison met with DOT officials regarding traffic entering Mill Street from Allen Street. Because right turns are allowed on red, motorists who wish to make an immediate left turn onto Spring could interfere with those entering from Spring. To head off potential problems, a dotted yellow line will be painted on the street, Jamison said. This will keep Allen Street traffic out of Mill Street's left lane and avoid conflict with traffic exiting Spring, Jamison said.

The dotted yellow line will force motorists from Allen Street turning left onto Spring to do so from Mill Street's right lane, the police chief said. DOT officials also plan to erect a sign explaining the new turn procedure, Jamison said.

Adding two-way traffic to lower Spring Street has been in the works for some time, said Sylva town administrator Tommy Thompson. It was part of the original Streetscape design, he said.

Initial plans called for the traffic flow change to occur simultaneously with the installation of new mast arms at downtown intersections. Earlier discussion also indicated that Walnut Street (between Peebles and the Jewelry Outlet) would become one-way between Main and Mill streets.

However, no change in Walnut Street's traffic flow is planned at this time, Teague said. Since the street adequately handles two-way traffic, the decision was made to maintain two-way traffic.

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