EAGLE, Idaho β A brand-new sign at a familiar intersection in downtown Eagle is throwing drivers off, and police are pulling people over for violations.
The State Street and Eagle Road intersection is a spot locals know well. For decades, if you were heading westbound, you turned left at the location. That familiar left turn is now illegal.
The intersection change is part of the Ada County Highway District's Downtown Mobility Project, a two-year effort to increase traffic flow and improve highway safety.
WATCH: Learn more about the intersection change from Eagle Chief of Police
"The ACHD, through their research and engineers, determined one of the best routes was to limit southbound turns while heading westbound on State Street," Eagle Chief of Police, Travis Ruby said. "So if you're headed westbound going through downtown Eagle and you get to the intersection of Eagle Road, you're no longer allowed to turn left or southbound."
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When Idaho News 6 was downtown, they ran into the Hunt family, who said they took a left turn at the intersection, not knowing it was illegal.
"I took a left turn," one family member said. "I think I probably saw it. I was like, everyone's turning left on here."
Ruby says this action creates a domino effect at the intersection.
"What we see most often is if one car makes a left turn, others will follow," Ruby said.
While word is getting around about the change, GPS systems still direct drivers to make a left turn. When drivers follow those directions, that's often when the flashing lights show up behind them.
Police initially focused on education rather than enforcement when the change took effect.
"We didn't issue any citations the first several weeks because our concern was that the intersection has been there for a long time, and people have been turning left there for decades," Ruby said. They were just used to their old patterns."
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Now that the education period has ended, officers have discretion on whether to issue warnings or citations.
"If we see it when our deputies make stops, they have a lot of discretion on whether to issue a warning or a citation," Ruby said. "There's a lot of factors to consider during that, but if enforcement is necessary, then we'll take that action."
Eagle's Chief Ruby says they even posted a video on social media in advance as part of a push with ACHD to warn drivers before the change took effect.
To follow road rules, drivers need to use an alternate route.
"To connect to Eagle Road, you go west through Eagle Road to the next intersection, which is Old Park Place, and that loops around behind one of our local businesses and brings you back up to Eagle Road," Ruby said.
