Central Avenue in Falconer isn’t the only street in the area where residents want something done to calm traffic.

But ultimately, all of the new stop signs, reflective strips or new speed limit signs posted every 20 feet won’t slow down traffic the way neighborhood residents expect them to unless we’re talking about the installation of speed bumps.

That’s not to say speed or failure to obey existing signs aren’t a problem. They are, whether we’re talking about Central Avenue in Falconer or Newland Avenue in Jamestown or Norby Road in Kiantone. The behavior of drivers is a problem in neighborhoods throughout the region.

Falconer Village Board officials, however, diagnosed the problem correctly during a recent meeting, in our view. Village board members and village officials both see the behavior that has generated residents’ complaints. But they also rightly realize that additional stop signs aren’t going to solve the problem. The issue on many of our roads isn’t lack of awareness of speed limits, it’s an inability to consistently enforce the traffic laws that are already on the books.

The issues on Central Avenue, Newland Avenue and in neighborhoods throughout the area isn’t signs or the need for new traffic laws – its enforcement. Many drivers know that our limited number of police officers can’t be everywhere at once, so they take the chance that they can drive 35 or 40 miles an hour in a 25 or 30 mile an hour zone or blow through a stop sign if there aren’t other drivers at the intersection. It’s a gamble that they often win at the expense of people who want to be able to walk safely in their neighborhood or to allow their children to play safely in their front yard.

Enforcement of existing traffic laws is all that’s needed to quell the complaints being raised by Central Avenue residents and neighborhoods like it in our region. That’s easier said than done since there are only so many police cruisers available at any one time.