The in basket: Alan Lowe of Port Orchard wants to know the purpose of the arrows in the through lanes in Gorst westbound, shortly after one passes beneath the railroad overpass. 

There are three in a row in each of the three lanes, pointing straight ahead. What else might a driver do but continue straight, Alan asked.

The in basket: I had driven over the arrows hundreds of times without ever noticing them until Alan asked. Afterward, though, I saw the same kind of arrows in the southbound lanes of Highway 16 near Gig Harbor between the Wollochet and Burnham Drive interchanges. I had to concede that I couldn’t puzzle out what message they are intended to send drivers. 

The out basket: Both locations are near spots where a confused, impaired or inattentive driver might head in the wrong direction and travel into oncoming traffic. In Gorst, it is the wide area in the middle of the town where drivers can turn around and go back the other way. In Gig Harbor it’s the Haven of Rest Cemetery. 

In each case the arrows are extra visual cues that would tell a driver he’s going in the wrong direction — if all those cars coming at him or her hadn’t already conveyed the message.