Pictured is a diagram showing when vehicles need to be stopped while traveling in the presence of a school bus.

By David Slone
Times-Union

WARSAW — Motorists need to pay attention, especially when they’re driving around school buses, but when it comes to stop-arm violations, their inattention is one of the biggest causes.

Going into the second month of the 2025-26 school year, Warsaw Community Schools Transportation Director Mark Fick provided the Warsaw Traffic Commission Wednesday, Oct. 1, a similar presentation to what he previously gave the Warsaw School Board on WCS’ transportation system. He said they run 41 routes, not counting the special needs buses. They have two substitute drivers, 14 trip drivers, eight aides, four mechanics and five office staff.

As of this week, there have been 47 stop-arm violations, with 21 of those vehicles they couldn’t see the license plates on, and the remainder have been forwarded on to law enforcement.

The biggest stop for stop-arm violations continues to be on East Center Street in front of Papa John’s. Fick had a bus video played at Wednesday’s meeting showing traffic continuing to flow on the right side of the road (going east) while the bus was stopped on the left side (going west) of the road in front of Papa John’s with the stop-arm out. All vehicles should have stopped while the school bus was stopped. A police vehicle was stopped behind the bus, but the other lane of traffic continued going.

“Papa John’s is a legal stop, but it’s just in a unique area. But it’s a constant influx of people come in and out, just as far as living there. … As long as the apartments are there, I still have to pick up there. I’ve been approached about moving the stop down to the (old hospital). I don’t do stops at abandoned buildings,” Fick said.

He said he could show the commission countless videos of drivers – at other bus stops – that have honked their horns, stopped kids from crossing and drove on by. Traffic Administrator Lance Grubbs pointed out in the Papa John’s bus stop video the bus is on the right side (westbound) of the road, the door opens on the right side, and the kids are safe, as long as no one hits the bus or runs into the grass.  Fick said they’ve looked at other stops in that area, but there aren’t any where buses can go.

On the Center Street stop – where it’s a four-lane road – Commission Member Jason Brown asked, “Do you see that kind of ignorance in traffic on just two-lane roads? Do you think that is just a public information thing, being that they feel like since it’s a four-lane road, that the rules are just different, even though that they’re not? Do you feel like that’s what it is?”

Fick replied they always kick out information, as well as Commission Members Warsaw Police Department Capt. Brad Kellar and Capt. Joel Beam do, but it’s just people not paying attention.

“Even on a two-lane,” Kellar said, “on State Road 15, Detroit Street, in the area of Jefferson Street, where the east-west tracks are, we’ve got one (stop-arm violation video) that (Fick) just gave me. We had multiple cars, the bus has stopped facing southbound, and multiple cars in the northbound lane aren’t even paying attention to that, they’re moving forward. Again, traffic is thick, but as traffic opens up, they just keep moving and they’re driving past the bus with a stop-arm out. It’s just people not paying attention.”

City Councilwoman Cindy Dobbins said she’s seen several informational materials out on the issue in different forms of video. Kellar said they put it out all the time. Grubbs pointed out to Brown a sign was posted, before Brown joined the commission, on eastbound Center Street across from Papa John’s that reads “All Lanes Stop When School Bus Stops.” Other automatic signs were put up, there’s been a lot of publicity about the issue, and they’ve done all they could possibly do to let people know what’s going on there.

“But we have a lot of out-of-town people who use that road, and oftentimes they forget. Even local people forget the situation there,” Grubbs stated.

From a patrol standpoint, Kellar said, “When we get these hot zones, these areas that we have a lot of problems with, our patrol officers are aware of that as well. The issue that comes into play is typically between that 3, 4, 5 o’clock time period where buses are making drops in the afternoon. Our officers are taking nonstop calls during that time, too. So if they’re not busy, if we don’t have officers out at that time following buses for that (ICJI SAV grant) – because that grant runs at certain times – our officers do try to hit those areas and watch for that.”

In an earlier matter, Grubbs brought up one of the 16 stops for Kosciusko Area Bus Service’s (KABS) deviated fixed route that the Traffic Commission had previously expressed some concern about before the bus route began. The stop is at SR 15 and Anchorage Road, Warsaw.

The route, known as the Lake City Loop, began picking up passengers Sept. 8. 

“There’s a sign up on 15 North that was posted. To my knowledge, that was one where we asked them not to make that a stop – 15 North at Anchorage Road,” he said.

City Planner Justin Taylor said he believed KABS had approached the state about that stop because a stop on SR 15 wouldn’t be in the city’s jurisdiction, it would be the state’s decision to make. Grubbs asked if KABS had decided to make that a stop. Public Works Director Dustin Dillon said it was a stop and KABS worked with the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) on getting permission for the stop.

“I think that’s an INDOT-regulated stop there,” Dillon said.

Grubbs wondered where people would wait for a bus or get dropped off at that location, or how they would get there.

“OK, well, if that’s INDOT, then they must have spoken to someone about that,” he said.

In a telephone call after the meeting, KABS General Manager Kristin Rude said they received the necessary permits from INDOT and the city has those. At previous Traffic Commission meetings, that stop approval was left up to INDOT since it’s on a state road. All the stops along the route were based on conversations with the community and stakeholders over the last couple years. After six months, Rude said they will re-evaluate the route and make changes, if and as needed.

At the end of Wednesday’s meeting, Dillon briefly brought up the traffic study for the Pope and Detroit Streets intersection. He said they are working with an engineering firm right now to discuss and pursue options at that intersection. The intersection is one that constantly comes up at the Traffic Commission meetings.

“We are looking into that as far as some options there. We don’t have enough detail as of yet to go into extreme depth, but we’re looking at some potential options,” Dillon said.

Those options include a low-cost option, something that could be implemented rather quickly; a mid-cost, mid-impact option; and then an ideal, future long-term planning option.

“So we’ll have some more details on that here as things progress,” Dillon explained. “Right now, currently, the engineering team is still trying to develop some further things, but ideally we’ll have something, hopefully, set to implement maybe by next summer, in between school years. That’s something we’re working towards right now, but there’s a lot of wheels in motion to make that happen. There’ll be a lot of meetings with stakeholders, with different business owners and neighbors in the area as we progress.”

The next Warsaw Traffic Commission meeting is at 1 p.m. Nov. 5 in the city council chambers at City Hall.