Washington Street will look very different once a project is completed by the state Department of Transportation. P-J file photo

Ready or not, it appears a change that goes through the heart of downtown Jamestown is just around the corner. For some, the adjustment will take us out of a comfort zone.

Last week, state Department of Transportation representatives held a virtual public hearing regarding the proposed redesign for Washington Street. Currently, the thoroughfare from Fluvanna Avenue to Second Street is four lanes.

It presents a hazard to pedestrians, bicyclists and other motorists. Any highly traveled city streets with more than two lanes promotes only one thing to drivers: speed.

That does not make for a safe environment, especially when considering some of the centerpieces already in place. With the National Comedy Center at Second Street and the Northwest Savings Bank Ice Rink a block away on Third Street, promoting walkability for visitors is one of the most important pieces to rebuilding and branding a downtown. This allows those, who are on foot or traveling by bicycle, to have the ability to shop in stores and eat at restaurants that surround these venues.

In the big picture, there’s an economic benefit. For the short term, we will all have to get used to it.

Public comment to the DOT is still being accepted through Monday on the proposal. Realistically, however, the state is just being polite.

Counterpoints, though well intentioned, are no match for the DOT. Once a decision has been made, it is almost easier to slow an avalanche than to challenge those in charge of maintaining state roads.

Two Jamestown council members heard that message loud and clear on Jan. 25. Both Marie Carrubba and Vickye James questioned the reduction of lanes to three — with the middle for turning — as well as the addition of two bicycle lanes.

Their concerns were met with a similar response: “People will just need to be aware,” said Doug Ackerman, DOT spokesman.

To be fair, any road transformation does take some time to appreciate. In the north county, Route 60 from the state Thruway to the Dunkirk city line was once four lanes. Its most treacherous point was at the Williams Street intersection, which was the scene of numerous fender-benders.

For years, many residents and town officials pleaded with state officials for a traffic light to avert those collisions. DOT planners, however, had a better idea.

Reduce the stretch of road to three lanes, a plan similar to what’s being eyed for Washington Street.

Why? It calms traffic by forcing motorists to slow down. Having a four-lane stretch does just the opposite. It adds a racing element that’s better left to the interstate highways.

When the OBSERVER reached out to Sue Surdej at the time that project was moving forward, she said the department received only 33 responses. Most, she said, were in favor of the plans.

That recently completed roundabout, however, at Routes 20 and 60 — one of the busiest intersections in Chautauqua County — was a source of contention from the start. Lawsuits were brought by businesses after a public hearing at the Fredonia Opera House in 2016 allowed residents to vent to officials who were not to be swayed.

Even Assemblyman Andrew Goodell, R-Jamestown, who is accustomed to being a minority voice in Albany, has received more engaged audiences from Democrats than he did that night from DOT when offering his take.

Sanjay Singh, who also was part of the Jamestown presentation, was the project manager for the roundabout proposal. He said then that at a four-legged traditional intersection, there are 32 points of conflict that are a potential for a crash. By entering a roundabout and making right turns, Singh said there’s only eight points.

“You do not have opposing traffic, you don’t go head on against opposing traffic or give them the right angle for a T-bone type situation,” Singh said that evening in Fredonia. “That’s why roundabouts are safer.”

Both Singh and Ackerman, in the Jamestown hearing, noted the rate of accidents on Washington Street as being far too high — four times the state average. That’s a far greater inconvenience than any lane reduction.

Just as important, downtown needs this. Talking safety is one thing. Walking it — and driving — is of even greater significance.

John D’Agostino is the regional editor of the OBSERVER, The Post-Journal and Times Observer in Warren, Pa. Send comments to jdagostino@observertoday.com or call 366-3000, ext. 253.