A move to return two separate lanes for westbound traffic at the intersection of Broad and Greenwood Streets in Tamaqua failed Tuesday night.

A proposal to remove three parking spaces along East Broad Street, between Greenwood and Market, in order to make a left turn lane and a right turn/ through traffic lane at the intersection of Broad and Greenwood was narrowly defeated during a regular meeting of council.The motion required a tie-breaking vote to be cast by Mayor Christian Morrison. Councilmen Justin Startzel, Tom Cara and Brian Connely voted for the change, with council President Micah Gursky and council members Dan Evans and Kerry Lasky voting against it.Councilman Dave Mace was absent from the meeting.Morrison cast the decision to "leave things the way they are."Startzel says he's been hearing a lot of complaints from residents, with the majority asking to have the traffic pattern restored to two lanes.In the past, westbound motorists had separate left turn and right turn/ through traffic lanes. Due to a PennDOT bridge construction project in the 200 block of East Broad Street, traffic was detoured around the block, and the traffic flow was changed to a single westbound lane.Now that the bridge has reopened, motorists familiar with the area expected the traffic pattern to return to the usual two lanes. It didn't, causing some confusion and near accidents.With the current pattern, all traffic should be in a single lane. But due to old habits, many drivers pull to the right before making the turn or expecting to go straight.That can leave two vehicles attempting to occupy the same road space as they head west. When everyone is in the same center lane and a driver is making a left turn, traffic can back up when there is no break in the eastbound traffic, causing a different kind of traffic headache.If a crash would occur, the driver on the right could be cited, according to police.Startzel feels that without a change, the headaches will continue and someone could easily get seriously hurt.