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Signs notifying drivers on U.S. 30 of a "target enforcement area" inside Warsaw city limits are scheduled to be posted along the highway in August.
This effort hopes to encourage safer driving in the area which has been the site of several accidents involving red-light running and speeding.
The signs, measuring 3-1/2 feet in length and 6 feet in width, will be posted notifying drivers of strong traffic enforcement throughout the seven miles of Warsaw highway.
"What I like with the sign placement is that people will focus on safety," Warsaw Police Chief Steve Foster, said. "People are just driving too fast in that area, and hopefully these signs will get their attention."
Foster and the WPD, alongside the Warsaw Traffic Commission and the Indiana Department of Transportation worked together to create the plan to place signs along the highway. INDOT intends to record the effectiveness of the new signs by studying traffic violations before and after the signs installation.
"I speak for many local citizens when I say that we greatly appreciate the time and effort INDOT has spent in designing and installing these signs," Ann Sweet, member of the Traffic Commission, said. "Hopefully they will serve as an effective speeding and red light running deterrent."
Sweet is a survivor spokesperson for the National Campaign to Stop Red Light Running, located in Washington, D.C., and currently works with Mayor Ernie Wiggins and members of the WPD in efforts to install cameras in the enforcement zone to better patrol the area for violators.
For the past five years, legislation to allow for camera installments on state highways has been denied by the Indiana House of Representatives.
For now, Sweet and WPD will continue to support the bill, and hope that the signs posted in August will reduce the dangers of driving on and around U.S. 30.
"Something is better than nothing," Wiggins said. "If the signs help to prevent traffic violations and reduce accidents in the community then I am all for it. I think Ann (Sweet) is doing the right thing in her efforts."
Sweet understands the importance of safety around U.S. 30. In 1997, her daughter, Shawnee Ulrey, died in an accident involving a tractor-trailer that had run a red light at a U.S. 30 intersection.
"Even if this stops one life from being lost, I feel that we've done our job," Sweet said.
