Illegal Turn Tickets Slowed as Fairchild Construction Ended

It looks as if drivers learned their lesson.

Data on the number of illegal turn tickets issued to drivers in Kent over the past few months slowed gradually as at the Fairchild Avenue, North Mantua Street intersection where drivers were prohibited from turning left onto the new Fairchild Avenue Bridge.

Kent Police wrote seven tickets to drivers who made an illegal turn in July. That figure compares with 36 issued in June and 176 illegal turn tickets written in May.

All lanes at the intersection opened on July 25.

The exact numbers for illegal turns aren't available for that exact turn at that particular intersection, but city and police officials suspected the big bump in tickets this spring was directly related to increased enforcement at the intersection, which saw serious traffic back-ups when drivers made the illegal turn onto the bridge due to several closed lanes.

Here's how the numbers break down for illegal turn tickets over the past few months citywide:

Turn Violation Tickets

(citywide)

City wide, police issued a total 41 tickets for illegal turns in 2011. Police have already written 357 illegal turn tickets this year. That's a 770 percent increase.