Warsaw Traffic Safety Commission Wednesday continued their discussion about a resolution to the backed-up traffic from Dunkin Donuts on East Center Street.
The problem is that the line of cars using the Dunkin drive-thru gets so backed up that the vehicles spill onto East Center Street and stop there.
City Planner Jeremy Skinner said the city has spoken with the manager of Dunkin and talked about Dunkin putting up a sign to encourage drive-thru customers to nudge closer together in line instead of spacing out, as has been observed.
“They indicate that their time from taking payment to giving the order wasn’t the issue,” Skinner said. “So, we talked about telling people to pull up and bring the orders out to them.”
However, Warsaw Police Capt. Joel Beam, who sits on the commission, said they reached out to Purdue engineers and got four options for resolutions to the problem. Option one is to eliminate the parking lot on the right side of Dunkin and ask vehicles to move over to that area while in the drive-thru. That’s expected to squeeze in maybe two or three more cars, Beam said.
The second option was to do a two-lane drive-thru when you enter, that will eventually funnel into one lane to order, similar to what Clearwater Car Wash by Aldi’s does, Grubbs said.
The third option was to close off the west entrance, and the fourth was to have vehicles use the alley and circle around, but Beam said that could turn into more backup as vehicles would have to cross each other.
Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer said the solution is more than just painting lines.
“There’s some changes that have to be done there,” he said of Dunkin’s part in the situation.
The commission decided they will present Dunkin management with the options from Purdue and proceed from there. Issuing citations for people stopping on Center Street to patronize a local business isn’t something police want to do at this point.
In other old business, a complaint from a homeowner on Pine Cone Lane about people parking on both sides of the narrow street was dropped. The commission said that the homeowners’ reason that emergency vehicles would be unable to navigate through there if needed is unfounded.
A speed limit decrease request from a resident in the Rolling Hills addition was also put on the back burner. It is currently 30 mph, and the homeowner wants to see it taken down to 20 mph. Skinner warned that doing that is a slippery slope to get on by taking control of every addition’s speed limits. Skinner also said 20 mph is pretty low and nearly “unenforceable.”
In new business to come before the commission, all of it was tabled until October’s meeting. Tim Saylor, a development coordinator who has a project along Union Street between Center and Fort Wayne streets, asked the commission to allow two-way traffic on North Union Street between Center and Lake streets. However, Saylor wasn’t present, and Skinner said he’ll be speaking with him next week about what he wants or needs.
A request for a yield sign by Edgewood Middle School to be placed at the south end of the parent drop off area at EMS was also tabled, along with how to fix traffic backing up on Glad Street during student pick-up and drop-off at Harrison Elementary School. The commission plans to speak with Warsaw Community Schools’ administration to come up with plans.
Thallemer said he suggests holding off on making any decisions until there is communication with the schools to collaborate.
For future traffic safety commission meetings, members feel it is important for people who want something to be put on the agenda to actually plan to show up to the meeting to express what they’re asking for. It will also be helpful if petitioners come prepared with information about any support they have.
The next Warsaw Traffic Safety Commission meeting is 1 p.m. Oct. 7 at City Hall.
