Arizona Daily Wildcat File Photo The "suicide lane" that runs from North Stone Avenue to North Swan Road on East Grant Road has been eliminated because of complaints from city residents.

The Grant Road reversible lane, better known as "the suicide lane," was shut down June 21 and is now used exclusively as a left turn lane.

However, many UA students who were out of town this summer are unaware of the change.

"School is back in session and the Tucson Department of Transportation staff would like to remind or inform students that the reversible lane is no longer in operation," said Michael Graham, public information officer and spokesman for the Tucson Department of Transportation.

The reversible lane allowed drivers to use the left turn lane as a standard traffic lane from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. heading west and from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. heading east.

In April, the Tucson City Council voted 7-0 to close the lane, primarily because visiting drivers did not know how to use the reversible lane properly.

The Grant Road reversible lane was put into effect on Feb. 16, 1981, to accommodate morning and evening rush-hour traffic.

Overhead signs informing drivers when the reversible lane was in effect were often ignored. The confusion occasionally led to traffic congestion and accidents.

UA biochemistry freshman and native Tucsonan Amber Hanson occasionally used the reversible lane on Grant Road, but thinks the closure will cause more confusion for drivers.

"I think it will make driving a little more difficult," Hanson said.

Hanson said she did not know the Grant reversible lane had been shut down until Monday, but noticed that the instructional signs on when to use the lane had been taken down.

"Grant was always complicated to start with when there was the suicide lane," she said. "I still hate driving on Grant."

UA political science freshman Ryan Seidel, also a Tucson native, said it was a good decision to discontinue the reversible lane.

"The postings were too vague and, for people not familiar with Grant, it was really confusing," he said.

"Also, there was a big problem with people thinking they could turn (during reversible lane hours)," Seidel said.

Seidel said he has witnessed at least three accidents in the last three years while driving on Grant Road, and attributes them to misuse of the reversible lane.

The first reversible lane began on Sixth/Fifth Street on Aug. 6, 1968, and shut down in September 1993, according to Graham.

In March 1973, another reversible lane was put into effect on Broadway, but was temporarily discontinued on Feb. 19, 2001, pending city council's vote to officially close it. Weeks later, the overhead signs were taken down.