Motorists are asked to be alert and on the lookout for pedestrians, especially schoolchildren, since school resumed Monday.
A school crossing guard is employed by the Town at the intersection of Short and Whitley streets to help school children safely cross S.R. 205 (Whitley Street) in the morning and in the afternoon when school lets out.
Parents are urged to instruct their children to cross S.R. 205/Whitley Street at the crosswalk with the crossing guard and to cross U.S. 33 at the stoplights and designated crosswalks when walking to school.
“Traffic has increased threefold in the morning and afternoon since school started,” said Town Council President Viv Sade. “Sometimes it backs up for blocks on Main or Whitley streets. Drivers need to be aware that students are crossing the highways when walking to and from school. And unfortunately, some of them are just darting across the highway in the most convenient spot.”
Sade said the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) conducted a traffic study on South Main Street (U.S. 33) earlier this year and agreed that Churubusco had a traffic congestion problem.
“We will be up for consideration of a project that would hopefully ease the problem - if not eliminate it - the next time INDOT is scheduled to do a road repaving job in Churubusco,” Sade said. “But, we’re not sure when that will be, and they (INDOT) are not sure exactly what that road project will involve.”
