By Theresa Garee
Messenger Editor

You may have noted a few changes to the Winchester Boulevard and Prentiss School Drive.

Changes include one-way traffic, a traffic circle, and no cross-traffic. The changes became fully operational on Oct. 28.

From now on, all inbound Winchester Blvd. traffic off of Gender Rd. will be one-way. Drivers must use the roundabout to access all businesses on the south side of Winchester Blvd. No cross traffice from Prentiss School Drive to the Winchester Square Shopping Center will be allowed.

While these changes may be inconvenient for some the city’s Construction Services Director Bill Simm’s shares why it is a necessity:

The current proximity of the Prentiss School Dr. traffic signal to the Gender Rd. signal is such that the increasing traffic volumes on Prentiss School Dr. are causing traffic to back up through the Prentiss intersection. This condition causes traffic to consequently stack back into the Winchester Square Shopping center. Additionally, The traffic congestion at the intersection is impacting emergency responses to the area.

Limiting Prentiss School drive to a right in/ right out condition along with moving the primary access to the shopping center further west into the new roundabout will allow for a safer and more efficient traffic condition. Traffic will flow more smoothly with the elimination of left turns and crossovers at Prentiss School.

More information on the project, including exhibits of the new conditions are available on the city website.