YELLOWKNIFE - A number of motorists have been pulled over by bylaw officers in recent days after the city placed four-way stop signs at two downtown intersections.

Guy Canning, a public works employee for the City of Yellowknife, was busy Tuesday afternoon putting up signs at the city's two new four-way stops. The new stops are on 51st Avenue and have been causing confusion among motorists. - Laura Power/NNSL photo

Up until April 23, traffic on 50th St. had the automatic right of way through the intersection at 51 St. Ave. It was the same situation for drivers heading down 51st Ave. a block away through the intersection with 49th St. but that changed Monday after new stop signs reading "all-way" underneath were placed at the intersections.

The old stop signs facing traffic on 51 Ave. through 50th St. and 49th St. through 5lst Ave., however, stayed the same until the following day. Nothing on them indicated that the intersections had been converted to four-way stops. As of Thursday, the stop sign on 51st Ave. facing south onto 50th St. had nothing on it indicating that it was a four-way stop.

Several drivers were observed blowing past the new stop signs or waiting fruitlessly on the other side of the intersection without realizing that they now have the right of way. Bylaw officers pulled over numerous vehicles.

Guy Canning, a public works employee for the city, was erecting four-way stop signs Tuesday. He said as he was putting up one particular sign, several motorists were pulled over for not complying with the new rules.

Jon Jaque, owner of CasCom on the corner of 49th St. and 51st Ave., said the city has made changes to that intersection in the past, leading to inconsistencies.

"It's been changed before and if they keep changing things like that someone's going to get hurt," he said.

Pierre LePage, owner of Le Frolic on 49th Street, however, is happy to see the change.

"Personally I think it's a great thing, these four-way stops," he said, noting that the intersection of 51st Avenue and 50th Street was hard to cross before and that the new stops will slow down speeding traffic.

Dennis Kefalas, manager of public works, said the four-way stops were put in because of the difficulties drivers faced making turns or crossing intersections. They're were also put there to slow down traffic on 51st Ave., which is a common route for students walking to Weledeh and St. Patrick schools.

He said bylaw officers aren't handing out tickets just yet, but only giving out warnings.

"It's an old area per se where people are used to driving a certain way," said Kefalas.

"We felt providing warnings for the first little while was the prudent thing to do."

As for the delay in replacing the old signs, including the one still without a four-way stop warning, Kefalas said he "would check that out."