Beginning at 6 a.m. Monday, September 16, the City of Lincoln will begin to phase in the one-way pairs traffic system around 'O' Street on 56th Street, Cotner Boulevard, 'N' Street, and 'P' Street. A public meeting about the one-way pairs will be held the same night at 6:30 p.m. in the Lincoln Ballroom at the Villager Courtyard and Gardens, 52nd and 'O' Streets. Representatives from the City, The Schemmer Associates and Constructors Inc. will be on hand to answer questions.

At 6 a.m. Monday, 56th Street, which will have been closed to through traffic between 'R' and Randolph Streets since September 12, will reopen to one-way traffic southbound between 'P' and Randolph Streets. Cotner Boulevard will reopen at the same time to one-way traffic northbound between Randolph and 'P' Streets. 'N' Street between 56th and Cotner will become one-way eastbound.

AP@ Street will be closed until 6 a.m. Wednesday, September 18, for the construction of new medians at Cotner and 56th Streets. When it reopens, it will become one-way westbound between Cotner and 56th Street.

Because of these changes, 'O' Street traffic may no longer turn onto North 56th Street or South Cotner Boulevard.

The main principle of the One-Way Pairs system, Aturn right to go left,@ will be phased in on 'O' Street between Monday and Wednesday. Beginning on Monday morning, no left turns will be allowed from 'O' Street onto South 56th Street or North Cotner Boulevard.

Eastbound 'O' Street drivers who want to travel north on Cotner Blvd. will merge into a new right-turn lane approaching 56th Street and turn right on 56th. They will then turn left onto one- way eastbound 'N' Street, and then left again onto northbound, one-way Cotner.

Westbound 'O' Street will have no access to southbound 56th Street until 'P' Street reopens at 6 a.m. Wednesday. Westbound drivers should use alternate routes to travel south. When 'P' Street reopens, westbound 'O' Street drivers who want to reach South 56th Street will be able to turn right at Cotner, then left on 'P' and left again on 56th.

Turning right to go left is similar to exiting at a diamond interchange on an interstate highway. Drivers approaching an interchange merge to the right to take the exit ramp, travel to the stop sign of the intersecting highway, and turn left to travel on that highway.

In conjunction with the One-Way Pairs, traffic movements will change at the intersection of 56th Street, Cotner Boulevard, and Randolph Street:

• Northbound 56th Street traffic may only travel through the intersection onto northbound Cotner Boulevard or turn right on eastbound Randolph Street.
• No left turns will be allowed from northbound 56th Street onto southbound Cotner or westbound Randolph.
• Left turns will be allowed from northbound Cotner onto westbound Randolph.
• Southbound 56th Street drivers wanting to turn left onto northbound Cotner should merge left and use the new turnaround lane.
• Southbound 56th Street traffic will use three lanes at this intersection: the left lane for left turns onto eastbound Randolph; the center lane for through traffic on 56th, and the right lane for right turns onto southbound Cotner or westbound Randolph.