PARIS – At long last, the traffic light at the busy Route 26 intersection next to the high school has been redesigned.

The light’s red arrows keep turning traffic on Paris Street and Route 26 in the lane until the arrow turns green. Before the Maine Department of Transportation made the recent change, traffic in the turning lane of Paris Street could travel straight on Route 26 instead of turning left onto Alpine Street.

“It is now much easier to make a left-hand turn onto Alpine Street from Paris Street in Norway than it was a few months ago,” said Paris police Sgt. Michael B. Dailey.

But the change hasn’t prevented accidents, he said. It has simply moved them back from the center of the intersection.

“Basically it’s a motorist being generous, letting someone turn through their lane of traffic,” said Dailey. The problem has resulted in at least seven collisions since January, he added.

None of the accidents has been serious, but they may well have been, Dailey said. “The sides of vehicles do not offer a lot of occupant protection.”

Last week, MDOT officials met with Paris police to discuss the intersection. Dailey said police wanted to have the state consider installing a raised median on Route 26 in front of Rite Aid, to prevent left-hand turns by drivers traveling north.

Paris police maintain that the raised median is the only way to effectively prevent traffic from crossing over into the Rite Aid parking lot.

State traffic engineers were reluctant to create the raised median until further study is done, Dailey said.

In the meantime, MDOT has agreed to post signs to prohibit northbound drivers from entering the Rite Aid parking lot. Signs will also ban drivers from making a left-hand turn from the Rite Aid parking lot onto Route 26.

“Once these signs are in place, a zero tolerance enforcement policy will be in effect by the Paris Police Department,” Dailey said. In other words, people will be summoned without first getting warnings.

Failure to obey a traffic-control device can result in a fine of $126.

“There’s going to be a period of education, but it’s necessary to prevent potentially serious injuries,” said Dailey.