I have had many questions sent my way on the status of the stop signs at Fishers railroad crossings. After all, most of the rails have been removed, so why do we need stop signs when there is no danger of a train coming by?
The Fishers Police Department issued a statement on its Facebook page recently, saying procedures are underway to remove some of the stop signs. The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) has the final regulatory say in this.
Only stop signs at railroad crossings that are on the same grade (or level) will be removed. Keep in mind that many railroad stop signs are above grade, meaning they form a small hill at the crossing. Stop signs at above grade crossings (131st Street west of SR 37 comes to mind) will remain until the trail is constructed in that area.
Here is the full statement from the Police Department:
The City of Fishers, after receiving approval to remove the rail, began procedures to remove stop signs from certain intersections. INDOT regulates rail road crossings in Indiana and we are working with them on a process to remove stop signs at all at-grade crossings. Crossings that are above-grade of the existing road will preserve the stop sign until the trail is constructed in that area.
What is the purpose of the Stop Signs when the Railroad hasn’t run ANY Trains in years plus the railroad has been REMOVED! I’m particularly talking about the stop sign that is still at the 126th Street location & the traffic “backs up” because of the stop sign. It’s been years since there has been the train running. The city has a round-a-bout on lantern road & 126th street to keep traffic moving! But because of keeping a stop at the “no longer used railroad” it makes traffic backed up!