City officials have decided to hold off on making permanent changes to traffic flow patterns around two Seymour elementary schools.

But Seymour City Council members have passed an ordinance to amend city code for no parking on the north side of Fifth Street between Elm Street and Emerson Drive near Emerson Elementary School.

The change will create a new area for parents or guardians to drop off and pick up children on the south side of the building instead of using the entrance on Emerson Drive.

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In July, School Resource Officer Keith Williams requested the city work with the school corporation to help improve safety due to an expected increase in the number of students being dropped off and picked up by parents instead of being transported by buses.

Originally, the idea was to implement no parking on Elm Street so parents could queue up there, but members of the thoroughfare and drainage committee decided they didn’t want traffic to back up onto Sixth Street (State Road 258.)

“We felt that was much higher risk than moving the queue to Fifth Street,” Councilman Drew Storey said.

As part of the change, Storey said he would like the city and school corporation to reach out to neighbors that will be impacted by the change.

The council suspended its rules and approved the amendment on second reading during the same meeting.

Chad Dixon, director of the Seymour Department of Public Works, said the curb would be painted yellow and new signage installed on or before Friday.

Besides Emerson, Williams also had requested the city make a change near Margaret R. Brown Elementary School.

The school corporation is adding a private driveway at the back of the school on the southwest corner that will allow traffic to exit onto Marley Lane and Brown Street.

Currently, there is a two-way stop sign at Marley and Brown. With the added driveway, Williams said the school would like to see it turned into a three-way stop.

Assistant Police Chief Greg O’Brien said traffic is required to stop on private drives by law, so the city doesn’t have to make any changes. By making it an official three-way stop, O’Brien said the city would be liable for any accidents there.

He also said if the city adds the stop sign on the school’s private drive, it opens it up for others to request such signs on private property.

Williams said the school is a special circumstance because it involves the safety of several hundred children.

O’Brien suggested the school put up the stop sign itself instead of having the city create an ordinance for one.

Police Chief Bryant Lucas said he also didn’t see the advantage of creating the ordinance for the added sign because by law, people have to stop regardless.

The council voted to withdraw the ordinance from the agenda.

The third change involved an ordinance to close C Avenue East at Sixth Avenue near Seymour-Jackson Elementary School.

“Really, the only service that is being provided there from C Avenue is straight into the school parking lot,” Storey said.

City engineer Bernie Hauersperger suggested the road be turned into a one-way westbound street so traffic leaving Jackson would have to turn right. Sixth Avenue would then become a one-way southbound to allow traffic to loop back onto B Avenue.

“I have a real problem with just closing C Avenue because it’s the main road used by Valeo employees,” he said.

Mayor Matt Nicholson said since there has only been one accident in the area over the last few years that maybe the council should leave it alone for now.

One major modification the corporation is making that will help is removing the physical barrier between the bus area and the car drop off/pickup area in front of the school to create more queue space for vehicles.

“The school system is jumping to about 2,100 feet of queue space, up from about 1,400, to give you an idea of how much they are adding on their side,” Nicholson said.

Williams said with the reconfiguration, they are hoping to double the number of vehicles able to unload and load children at one time to 20.

Tim Fosbrink, director of transportation for the schools, said he is expecting a 50 to 60% increase in the volume of cars at the schools.

During the first two weeks of school, Fosbrink said the traffic to get into Jackson usually backs up to Walnut Street. That line of traffic will extend to Gaiser Park with the increase, he said.

The council tabled the ordinance and plans to reevaluate the situation after school starts to see if changes need to be made.