BREMERTON — Recent road changes to turn lanes at Marine Drive and Kitsap Way has caused some displeasure amongst residents.

The road was re-striped and reduced from four lanes to three to allow more room for incoming vehicles. But now wait times have increased for those leaving Marine Drive.

Colleen Smidt frequents the busy intersection. She said at times she has to wait two or three light cycles to make a left turn.

“That intersection is a problem that is not going to get any better with this change for the average driver,” Smidt said. “It is a horrible bottleneck for the businesses and residents in the area.”

Some of the increase in wait time can be attributed to traffic loops, which sense when vehicles are at the light.

According to a press release from Bremerton public works, contractors will reposition the loops to match up with the new lane setup.

“This change fixes that problem but causes a jam-up during the school rush period, because the loops aren’t detecting the traffic and retaining the necessary green long enough,” said Chal Martin, public works director. “Once we get that done we’ll dial the timing back in and this should fix the problem. If not, we’ll keep working at it until it is fixed.”

The Bremerton School District has been asking for ways to make lanes wider for over a year.

“The intersection, as it is configured now, is a safer intersection than what it used to be,” said Marco DiCicco, transportation supervisor for the Bremerton School District. “With the old configuration, we were either scraping the tires along the curb or going over the curb. At (about $400 per tire), the damage adds up fairly quickly.”