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Medford signal gets green light to operate By Jessica Smith Distracted drivers take note: The city this week turned on traffic signals that had been hanging dark on Barnett Road since early this summer. "One of our fears has been that people are so used to seeing them black they wouldn�t notice them lit," said Kim Parducci, assistant to the city�s traffic engineer. "But so far, we haven�t had any accidents." Still, the lights may come as a surprise to east- and west-bound drivers on Barnett between Stewart and Riverside avenues near the south Interstate 5 interchange. "People are talking on their cell phones or drinking their coffee. They don�t notice that things have changed," explained Cory Crebbin, public works director. To alert drivers that the signals are operating, the city plans to install bright orange signs indicating the change. City engineers threw the switches on the signals Tuesday morning, just in time for the morning traffic rush. Crebbin said the city decided to light the signals � installed by WinCo Foods, a 24-hour grocery that plans to open in the former Kmart building � to make Barnett safer for school kids who walk the road during their lunch hours. The city approved the signals in June 1998 after WinCo, then Waremart, insisted that traffic lights be installed on Barnett at a driveway leading into the store�s parking lot. The lights direct traffic leaving the WinCo lot, a lot across the street near the KFC restaurant and the Barnett intersections with the driveways to both lots. Parducci, who has made several trips to Barnett to inspect the signal and its effect on traffic, said things seem to be running smoothly. The light is timed to coincide with the signals on Stewart and Riverside, she explained. Concerns about traffic problems stopped the city from approving the signals in earlier proposals from Kmart and WinCo. Approval finally came when WinCo agreed to a two-year trial period. At the end of two years, the city has the right to determine whether the lights are necessary to traffic management on Barnett. If the lights cause more problems than they fix, the city can pull them out. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA