Safety of school children on the roads and sidewalks around Persell Middle School has been an important topic over the past couple of years.

It’s good to see, then, that Mark Roetzer Jr., acting city public works director, and county Public Facilities officials are discussing some changes to make the area safer. While the intersection is straightforward most of the time, the way drivers approach it can make the area a hornet’s nest when students are coming to and from school.

County officials are looking at possibly revamping the intersection of Hazeltine Avenue and Baker Street and making sidewalk improvements. Speed bumps may be part of the solution. There is also talk of investigating why the traffic light on Baker Street near the entrance to Persell Middle School has been blinking yellow for years and how much it should cost to make the light usable again. And it’s good to see Jamestown Public Schools officials involved in the process because some of the things the school has done in attempts to improve traffic flow around Persell may have actually helped create the problems at pick up and drop off.

We weren’t optimistic that school zone speed cameras would fix all of the issues in some schools, including the area around Persell Middle School. Finding ways to fix the physical space is more costly but will do more to keep children safe.