New system will give Lafayette, WL fire trucks, ambulances all green lights
Design started this week on a $2.2 million emergency vehicle pre-emption system for nearly 200 traffic signals in Lafayette and West Lafayette. Plus, WL mourns death of Lori Stein Sabol, city judge
Support for this edition comes from the West Lafayette Public Library Foundation, marking the reopening of the Caretaker’s Cottage for its second season. The Caretaker's Cottage, the West Lafayette history center at 1496 N. Salisbury St., will host an event 3-5 p.m. Thursday, March 27, as a celebration of an exhibit which features the history of the Purdue Black Cultural Center since its creation in 1970. The library worked with partners at the BCC to develop this exhibit, using their archive collections to bring the story to life. The exhibit features the history of the center as well as the various student opportunities that it's provided for decades. A member of the Center will speak at the event, and the curator of the Caretaker's Cottage will be there to answer questions about the exhibits. There will be light refreshments. For more information, go to: wlaf.lib.in.us/calendar/home-away-from-home-celebrating-the-history-of-purdues-black-cultural-center/
Some notes to get through …
NEW SYSTEM WILL GIVE LAFAYETTE, WEST LAFAYETTE FIRE TRUCKS, AMBULANCES ALL GREEN LIGHTS: Fire trucks, ambulances and other emergency vehicles will automatically get green lights at nearly 200 Lafayette and West Lafayette intersections under a joint $2.2 million project rolled out Tuesday by both cities.
The project will fit traffic signals with what’s called an emergency vehicle pre-emption system that would detect approaching vehicles equipped to send signals that trigger the lights and give them priority at intersections.
“This is something we started having initial discussions about five years ago,” Jeff Need, West Lafayette fire chief, said.
The initial design work is starting now, with 153 signals east of the Wabash River and 46 signals on the west side. According to a timeline in an agreement approved Tuesday, West Lafayette could start installing the hardware after January 2026. In Lafayette, that would be after October 2026.
The project includes 90% of the funding from a Federal Highway Safety Improvement Program grant secured through the Indiana Department of Transportation by traffic planners with the Area Plan Commission, with the cities sharing the other 10% of the cost.
“It’s a game changer for the fire department, as far as response times and safety at the intersections,” Lafayette Fire Chief Brian Alkire said. “And not only for the fire trucks, but for civilians, too. They don't necessarily always hear a fire truck coming to the intersection or a fire truck getting behind them. So this will help resolve a lot of that.”
Need said Indianapolis has had a version of an emergency vehicle pre-emption system for two decades. And both Lafayette and West Lafayette have manual systems designed to clear entrances to fire stations and nearby intersections. The two fire stations have been doing demo testing at some intersections for the past year.
“This just will automate those things,” Need said. “It’s designed to give us the green in the direction we’re going, so vehicles in that intersection also have a chance to clear out so we can get through any congestion.”
Need said the system will tie into GPS systems already used by fire dispatchers to track where vehicles are. Lafayette and West Lafayette have shared response agreements, so their systems will work at intersections on both sides of the river, Need said.
The system also could be fitted into city snow plows for use during storms and other vehicles that could benefit from a timed green light, Need said. The system would be designed with levels that would prioritize emergency vehicles approaching an intersection over others with the equipment.
WEST LAFAYETTE CITY JUDGE LORI STEIN SABOL DIES: City officials confirmed Monday that Lori Stein Sabol, West Lafayette’s city judge since 2001, died this week. Stein Sabol, whose solo private legal practice focused on family law, oversaw a city court that focused mainly on local code violations and parking tickets.
“(She helped) figure out how we met out justice, if you will, through the city of West Lafayette in a really caring and compassionate way, especially for those individuals who might be experiencing a parking ticket through the city for the first time in their lives,” Mayor Erin Easter said Tuesday. “She will be greatly missed within the city.”
Stein Sabol was appointed as city judge by then-Gov. Frank O’Bannon, after former judge Michael Morrissey was elected a Tippecanoe County Superior Court judge. She was elected as a Democrat six terms after that. In recent years, Sabol had worked with the city to adjust the role and salary to fit a position that scheduled court a few times a month.
Eric Burns, the city’s attorney, said the appointment for a new city judge will be up to Gov. Mike Braun. The timeline for the process was still being looked at, Burns said. Until then, cases scheduled to go before the city court likely would be continued until a new judge is named, he said. The next municipal election will be 2027.
In 2021, the Purdue Exponent had this profile of how Stein Sabol handled a court that saw more than its share of Purdue students through the years: “A viewer's guide to city court.”
‘TOWN HALL,’ MINUS THE CONGRESSMAN: Indivisible and other progressive groups in Greater Lafayette will hold a town hall at 2 p.m. Sunday titled, “Where’s Baird?” The event, short of getting a meeting with U.S. Rep. Jim Baird of Indiana’s 4th District, will allow people to “tell their story about how the changes in Washington, D.C., are impacting their lives and our community,” Lisa Dullum, an organizer of the event and a Tippecanoe County Council member, said. “After repeated requests, including phone calls, emails, and even visiting a mobile office in Shadeland late last month, Rep. Baird's office has publicly stated that he had no intention of meeting with constituents in the near future.”
Baird’s office did not immediately respond about the invitation or whether he had plans to town hall-style events in the 4th District.
The session will be at the West Lafayette Public Library, 208 W. Columbia St.. No word about whether there will be donuts, as there were courtesy of Sen. Jim Banks when he trolled a similar event in northeastern Indiana last weekend from a distance.
RUBE GOLDBERG BACK AT PURDUE SATURDAY: The task for the 2025 Rube Goldberg Machine Contest: Feed a pet. Of course, do it in as many convoluted steps as possible, with no human help beyond the engineering skill and imagination to replicate the cartoons to the contest’s namesake. Rube Goldberg gets the ball rolling at 9 a.m. Saturday, March 29, at the Purdue Armory, 812 Third St. in West Lafayette. There are divisions for grade school, middle school, high school and college.
WRITING WORKSHOP: The Lafayette Writers’ Studio and Second Flight Books will host a writing workshop called “Mothers, Daughters, Sisters & Wise Women: Writing Our Own History of Women,” from 3:30-5 p.m. Sunday, March 30, at Second Flight Books, 2122 Scott St. in Lafayette. The workshop will feature readings and explore how to write effectively about women. The workshop is free, with donations accepted for YWCA Greater Lafayette.
E-WASTE DAY AT THE FAIRGROUNDS: Tippecanoe County Recycling and Solid Waste District will host an e-waste day from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, March 29, at the Tippecanoe County Fairground, 1406 Teal Road in Lafayette. Tippecanoe County residents may bring in electric and electronic devices such as TVs, computers, laptops, vacuum cleaners and printers for recycling at no charge. Not accepted at this event: Large appliances, such as washing machines or stoves. Proof of residency will be required for entry to the event for Tippecanoe County residents only. For more details, here’s a link.
Support for this edition comes from the West Lafayette Public Library Foundation, marking the reopening of the Caretaker’s Cottage for its second season. Learn more here.
Thank you for supporting Based in Lafayette, an independent, local reporting project. Free and full-ride subscription options are ready for you here.
Tips, story ideas? I’m at davebangert1@gmail.com.
Baird and Banks, too frightened of their constituents to meet with them. Because there are NO GOOD ANSWERS to why they are allowing the destruction of programs that help citizens.
Wow, Baird is a real parasite but Banks is like the next level of welfare queen. They're both shitting all over the community pool but Banks seems to get off on dragging you underwater and rubbing your face in it.