A new traffic sign limiting left turns in one of Warrawong's busiest streets was installed in the wrong location.
The sign, which reads "left lane must turn left" was placed on the northbound side of King Street between Northcliffe Drive and Cowper Street, right outside the McDonald's restaurant.
Resident and bus driver Richard Cannan noticed the sign - right at the end of the bus bay - last week and couldn't work out what which drivers were supposed to follow its advice.
"It's confusing - does that mean if you want to go straight ahead then you have to get into the right lane?"
"If that's the case it's going to be a nightmare for bus drivers to jump across one lane to get into the other lane to go straight through."
What confused him even more was the complete lack of any left turn arrows painted in the left lane heading to the Cowper Street intersection.
It turned out Mr Cannan's confusion was perfectly understandable - because the sign shouldn't have been there in the first place.
"The left turn sign on King Street was incorrectly installed at this location," a Transport for NSW spokesperson said.
"Transport for NSW has covered this sign until it can be removed."
The bus bay in the vicinity of the sign has been recently repainted and will also service a new suite of drive-through only outlets of Starbucks, Oporto and Hungry Jacks.
While that raised the possibility of cars merging into that lane as buses move out, the spokesperson said that potential conflict had been factored into designs.
"The additional left turn lane will provide safe access to the new development while minimising impacts to existing northbound traffic," she said.
"The maximum available space between the bus zone and the end of the turn lane has been provided to allow buses and motorists to use this space."
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Glen Humphries
I'm an award-winning senior journalist with the Illawarra Mercury and have well over two decades' worth of experience in newspapers. I cover the three local councils in the Illawarra for the Mercury, state and federal politics, as well as writing for the TV guide. If I'm not writing, I'm reading.
I'm an award-winning senior journalist with the Illawarra Mercury and have well over two decades' worth of experience in newspapers. I cover the three local councils in the Illawarra for the Mercury, state and federal politics, as well as writing for the TV guide. If I'm not writing, I'm reading.
