Warsaw Traffic Commission Continues To Discuss Student Safety
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David Slone-dslone@timesuniononline.com
With Warsaw Community Schools starting Tuesday, student safety continued to be on the minds of the Traffic Commission members Wednesday.
One of the things the commission heard about during its brief meeting was about adding flashing solar speed boards to existing lights along Husky Trail near Harrison Elementary School. The city also will look at adding the speed boards near other Warsaw schools.
At its July 10 meeting, the commission discussed Husky Trail and potential ways to make it and other school roads safer for children, and one idea that came up was having permanent speed boards along the road. That meeting was a month after 8-year-old Gideon Cook was killed by a vehicle June 10 as he was crossing Husky Trail at North Pointe Drive to Harrison Elementary School.
WCS Chief Academic Officer David Robertson started Wednesday’s discussion by reading a statement of some safety updates. Robertson is the school corporation’s representative to the Traffic Commission.
“Warsaw Community Schools continually collaborates with Warsaw Police Department, the city Traffic Safety Commission and additional local authorities to review the safety of the school, walking and bus routes,” he said.
This summer school officials learned of construction projects scheduled to begin in the fall which potentially will impact some sidewalks and roads, he said.
“Because these projects will potentially affect the walking zones of North Pointe Drive, Husky Trail and 300 North, Warsaw Schools will begin the school year by providing busing on these routes. This temporary decision will be reviewed upon completion of the projects. Construction is scheduled to begin in future weeks,” Robertson said.
Crossing guards will continue to be on duty from 8:35 to 9:35 a.m. and 3:40 to 4:10 p.m. at Harrison Elementary.
Robertson said WCS “encourages students and families to take advantage of bus transportation during this period of construction. Additionally, (WCS) reminds the public that the start of the school year means increased pedestrian bus traffic. We ask for the public’s help in ensuring that all students get to and return from school safely. Please refrain from distracted driving and remember to stop for extended school bus stop arms.”
Commission member and WPD Capt. Joel Beam asked that with the school year starting Tuesday, drivers pay more attention when driving, get off their cellphones and watch for children walking to and from school.
“One of the things that we do ask is for parents to follow the guidelines the school has set forward. If there is a parent drop-off zone at a certain school, please use that drop-off. There’s a few schools where parents are dropping (students) off and it’s not in the designated areas, causing kids to walk and cross areas that aren’t (ideal),” Beam said.
He also said that at the July 10 meeting, the commission talked about crossing guards. WPD will be training crossing guards for the school, with the first session on Friday.
“The relationship between the Warsaw Schools, Warsaw Police Department and the city of Warsaw is something that a lot of school systems are jealous of, so I appreciate the fact that we are able to work together,” Beam said.
He then brought up augmenting existing lights with flashing solar speed boards that were discussed at the July 10 meeting. Warsaw Public Works Superintendent Jeff Beeler updated the commission on those.
“We’ve been doing some research from multiple different companies. The average price range for a set is $13,000 to $16,000, depending on how we want it to look: whether the LEDs are in the sign, we have LEDs above, we have speed board underneath, a changeable message speed board that not only tells you your speed but tells you to slow down. So there’s a lot of different options,” Beeler reported.
There’s two signs in a set. Once the city decides how they want them to look, it takes five to eight weeks to receive them. Beeler said they used to be able to go out, purchase them and install the signs themselves. With new rules in place, the city can’t purchase them without going through engineering first through the sign company, he said.
“We will give them what we think we would like to see, and then they will make sure it meets all the standards that are out there. And then they will build it for us and we’ll be able to install it,” Beeler said.
Mayor Joe Thallemer said the two signs would be one on the north end for the southbound traffic and the other on the south end for the northbound traffic.
“I think the Traffic Commission felt the speed board was really critical to draw awareness to the speed, not just at Harrison but at all schools as potentially these issues – especially on a road as busy as Harrison – becomes critical and problematic. So I think having this visible reminder of how fast you’re going, I think we all felt that was a pretty good idea,” Thallemer said.
At the July 10 meeting, Beeler said he was waiting for information coming from Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) about some recommendations that could be done along Husky Trail.
Thallemer said, “Several key points were signage, making sure the signage met the MUTCD (Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices) standards, potentially adding more signs. There were other improvements that were discussed in regards to potentially narrowing the lanes to shorten the crosswalk. A pedestrian island. These were things that certainly we’ll be looking at.”
One of the immediate suggestions was to adjust the time on the flashing crosswalk lights. Beam said they don’t want drivers to get so used to flashing lights that they ignore them.
“What we’re proposing with these sites are to actually delineate the school zone with these signs. These signs will be activated, could be programmed from our department so if there’s a fog delay potentially the times could be shifted. Those signs would be actively flashing on both ends of the school zone,” Thallemer said.
In the summer, if there are specific drop-off times, the lights could be programmed for that, too. Thallemer said the city will take a look at it and take care of the signs as it determines where they need to be placed.
City Planner Jeremy Skinner said the work on the sidewalk from Husky Trail, along North Pointe Drive and all the way to the YMCA is scheduled to begin next week and will tie in to Husky Trail. It won’t be completed until sometime in November.
Beam said next Tuesday there will be extra patrols in school zones.
Skinner said with a lot of construction projects going on, and more starting soon, he asked drivers to slow down, pay attention, obey traffic signs and use detours that are given.
“Because certainly those (construction workers) out there are fathers and they have kids and we want to protect them as well,” Skinner said.
He said he was out on a site Wednesday with a property owner who had people “literally driving through their yard, rather than turning around on a road closed, and finding an alternate route. They just decided to cross a ditch and through their yard. It’s just not acceptable. As drivers, we need to be better people and more vigilante on how we’re getting to and from where we need to go.”
