(KNZA)- Kansas Department of Transportation officials meet with the Hiawatha City Commission last week to discussed changes they are proposing to the 1st Street corridor to enhance safety.

Meeting with the commission were Michael Hagemann and Leroy Koehn with KDOT.

KDOT is proposing going with a street reconfiguration known as a “ road diet.”

Under the proposal, the existing four-lane street would be converted to a three-lane roadway consisting of two through lanes and a center two-way left-turn lane.

Commissioners were told the reconfiguration has worked well in other communities.

The street would be re-striped following a sealing project slated for this spring and the reconfiguration would be place by the start of school this fall.

The traffic signals would be removed the intersections of 1st and Oregon and 1st and Iowa Streets.

Hagemann said KDOT is not against the signals, they just don't have justification to allocate funding for them since traffic studies indicate they are "not warranted."

In response to a question from Mayor Becky Shamburg, Koehn said the city could replace the non-functioning traffic signal at the intersection of 1st and Oregon, but KDOT would not participate financially.

Koehn said the city would be eligilbe for grant funding to help fund the installation of flashing beacons for pedestrian crosswalks and for new signage.