Pedestrian safety at Lakeview Middle School improved with the installation of crosswalk signs with flashing lights near two intersections along East Smith Street in Warsaw.
But drivers will need to obey the rules of the road to help ensure the safety of the those crossing the road to and from the Warsaw middle school.
The new lights were installed at the crosswalks near the intersections of South Wood and East Smith streets and South Scott and East Smith streets.
Certified School Resource Officer and Warsaw Police Department Corp. Doug Light said, “We just had some issues prior. All we had before was the signs, the crosswalks were marked. So to just better alert traffic, the school had the crosswalk lights installed.”
The solar-powered lights communicate with each other when a pedestrian activates a button located at the crosswalks, Light said. The lights remain active for 30 seconds.
“The big thing is to bring awareness that they’re here and … When there’s a pedestrian in a marked crosswalk, (drivers) have to yield to that pedestrian,” Light said, adding that it’s a state law.
Smith Street from Maple Street to Kiwanis Park is a school zone with a 20 mph speed limit between the hours of 7 to 8 a.m. and 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
As a general rule, Light said motorists should slow down any time they enter a school area.
“People need to slow down,” Long said. “And observe the crosswalks. We do have a number of kids that walk in the morning, a number of people that cross the roadway, so we do want them to be aware of that – that when they see the yellow flashing (light), someone has activated the crosswalk and they need to slow down and yield to anyone in the crosswalk.”
The school corporation installed the reflective signage with the flashing lights last week.
“We’re just hoping it brings notice and grabs people’s attention, and it’s just kind of a big thing,” Light said. “It’s one of those (things) where I’m not sure people understand they have to stop for pedestrians in a crosswalk.”
He noted that with Daylight Saving Time, it’s always dark in the mornings. “So we’ve made some improvements with security lights and just trying to get this stretch of roadway lit up a little bit, but we think this is going to help,” Light said.
In the afternoons, crossing guards will still be posted at Lakeview.
This week, he said the students will be informed of the new crosswalk safety devices. Staff were informed Monday, but school was cancelled Tuesday because of icy road conditions.
Even with the safety improvement, Light said pedestrians still need to understand they need to use the basic rules for crossing the street.
“They need to activate the light, and then they still need to use caution and look. The big thing is trying to make that connection with the driver – eye contact – you know that they see you and they’re slowing,” he said.
“We’re excited. We’ll see how it goes. Hopefully, it’ll make a difference,” he said of the lights and signs. “… We’ll monitor it and see how it goes.”
If improvement isn’t seen, Light suggested, “You want to take this step, because the next one is we’re just going to have to do traffic enforcement. We’re just going to have to start citing drivers exceeding the speed and not yielding to the crosswalk. We’ll try to give them a fair warning here.”
