Fiscal Note
No City appropriation required.
Title
Amending Section 12.80 of the Madison General Ordinances to clarify and increase the use of flashing lights by school buses.
Body
DRAFTER’S ANALYSIS: The amendment clarifies that Madison’s Ordinance under Wis. Stat. § 349.21 “requires” the use of flashing lights for the purposes of Wis. Stat. § 346.48(2)(b)(2). Rather than a blanket requirement that would be uniform across Madison’s myriad of traffic configurations, the proposed language will allow bus operators, school district management, parents, police, and other stakeholders to coordinate and make determinations that will be most conducive to public safety, with the bus operator ultimately subject to state law.
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The Common Council of the City of Madison do hereby ordain as follows:
1. Section 12.80 entitled “Use of Flashing Red Warning Lights by School Bus Operators” of the Madison General Ordinances is amended as follows:
“12.80 - USE OF FLASHING RED AND AMBER WARNING LIGHTS BY SCHOOL BUS OPERATORS.
Pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 349.21, school bus operators may use flashing red and/or amber warning lights in a residence or business district at locations where there are no traffic signals when pupils or other authorized persons are to be loaded or unloaded and such persons must cross the street or highway before being loaded or after being unloaded. School bus operators shall be required to use their best judgment in determining whether the use of flashing warning lights is appropriate.”