LAHARPE — The issue of motorists having to stop for school buses along U.S. 54 just outside LaHarpe has been resolved.
LaHarpe City Attorney Fred Works said Monday the Iola school district has reached an agreement with a family allowing buses to use the family’s driveway for pick-up and drop-offs.
The bus will no longer stop along the highway.
At least three motorists have been ticketed in recent weeks for passing the stopped bus from the opposite direction along the four-lane highway.
Motorists must stop for a school bus from both directions if its red lights are flashing and its stop sign is extended.
The only exception is when a motorist is approaching from the opposite direction along a four-lane highway divided by a grass median.
The LaHarpe median is asphalt, and considered a turning lane, meaning motorists must stop.
“It was a good resolution to the problem and a speedy response from the district to address the situation,” Works said in an email.
Disobeying a stopped and flashing school bus is a costly violation in Kansas. The motorists in LaHarpe were fined $420, and that soon likely will increase, with even stiffer fines for repeat violators.
