City of Sabetha, Kansas
POLICE DEPARTMENT
Round Table
The Round Table web page is designed for the Citizens of Sabetha to
voice their opinions on what is being discussed by the Sabetha Police
Department.  This web page is designed for your input on the discussion
which is mentioned below.  You can go to the contact us page and
submit your suggestions, compliments and concerns.  Please keep in
mind that the Sabetha Police Department can do so much and that we
strive to serve and protect you with respect and integrity.  This web site
was not made for personal complaints against  the City of Sabetha.   
Any personal complaints are handled through a written complaint and
those issues can be brought to the Chief of Police.

Please enjoy this web site.  The Sabetha Police Department looks
forward to having help from this community on issues that affect us all
as a community.

Main Street Parking Issues

We have all heard this saying over and over about don't you cops have anything better to do than worry about
people parking illegally.  I know this because when I give one person a warning for parking illegally, that person
makes sure that I know about who else is parking illegally and it spirals downhill from there and I have about 15
phone calls by the end of the week.  The Sabetha Police Department does not have a quota on how many tickets
they have to write and the fines do not benefit  the Sabetha Police Department.

My concern as the Chief of Police is making sure everyone can drive safely in the business district of Sabetha
and also making it safe for people in the crosswalks.  As a parent, I know that children do not pay attention when
crossing the street.  Also young children measure between 3 feet to 5 feet tall.  Most vehicles, especially pickups,
are taller than that.  When vehicles are parked at the crosswalks, you can't see adults very well, let alone children
darting out in front of you.  

This Round Table Issue is for the Citizens of Sabetha to have input and ideas on how to make it safer for the
drivers and the pedestrians utilizing Main Street.  Obviously times change, vehicle sizes change, laws change
and many other issues change with time.  Without getting into Kansas State Statute, there are several parking
stalls that have been in use in Sabetha for many years and need to be turned into no parking spaces.  The law
states that no vehicles are to be parked within so many feet of a stop sign and so many feet within a crosswalk.  I
am aware of this and have made steps toward getting rid of several parking stalls along Main Street.  Some of
the issues are that you can't paint stripes on concrete and brick in winter time and if there is a parking stall, then it
must be legal to park there.  Just because you don't know the law does not make you exempt from the law.  That
is where a simple warning ticket comes into play.  Warnings are not meant to be harassing, warnings let the
public know that what you are doing is illegal due to state law, not to make you feel that the police are just picking
on you.


My suggestion is to eliminate the already illegally marked parking stalls and post compact car parking only at
each intersection in the business district, hopefully keeping the vans, four-door trucks and the extremely long
vehicles from making it impossible to pull onto Main Street.  Yes, this will upset people who own these vehicles,
but at what expense is it going to take to keep our children safe and hopefully lower the accidents on Main Street
due to the inability to see and safely pull into traffic.  
Current Round Table Issue
More Round Table Issues to come.  If you would like an issue
that you have a concern on, please let us know.