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Edmonton officials are pulling back on a key piece of the Jasper Avenue pilot project after traffic studies showed drivers were having a hard time making a turn.

Experience Jasper Avenue took away the dedicated right-turn lane for eastbound drivers trying to turn right onto 109 Street.

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That’s coming back Wednesday, according to Ward 6 Coun. Scott McKeen, who said he’s heard from a lot of frustrated drivers: “People have been really upset and I think the city did a poor job of communicating why the installation was done.”

City officials said taking away the right-turn lane was meant to increase pedestrian safety because many people on foot felt drivers were not seeing them. They didn’t yield when pedestrians tried to use the crosswalk.

But without the dedicated turn space, drivers were waiting a lot longer to turn and clog up the through-lanes while they wait. Recent city traffic monitoring found the average wait time tripled, with cars waiting on average 50 seconds, up from the 16 seconds they waited before the project.