We’ve seen far too many fatal accidents involving pedestrians in Jamestown over the past several years for there to be no attention paid to the issue by city officials.

Some may remember Complete Streets, which has been adopted as a lens through which to view public works projects for years now dating back to former Mayor Sam Teresi. Mayor Eddie Sundquist led the city’s adoption of Vision Zero, which built on the Complete Streets framework and landed a Safe Streets for All planning grant. Now, Mayor Kim Ecklund’s newly hired city planner is ready to begin a new push for Safe Streets for All planning.

We can all agree that more traffic safety measures are needed. The questions are how and how much.

The problem Jamestown faces is its traffic infrastructure was built so long ago that it is difficult to change as transportation changes. This blast of cold weather and the foot of snow Jamestown received last weekend shined a light again on the difficulties some areas of the city face with snow removal. While it’s easy to say homeowners are responsible for clearing sidewalks, those who pay attention realize that an aging population can’t always clear their sidewalks – particularly when there is a major snowfall. And, as homes are torn down there is sometimes no property owner to clear the walks. That leads to children walking in the street and creates safety issues.

The rise of personal mobility devices is likely going to continue as a cheaper mode of transportation. Creating bike lanes for these devices is difficult on many city streets because they are already difficult to navigate with cars parked on the street. One could argue that we should remove cars from the street to create space, but that’s not a workable solution for many city residents. We learned that a couple of years ago when the state Transportation Department wanted to remake Second Street by removing parking on one side of the street. That plan would have been a major inconvenience for those who live on Second Street.

As a community we need to get on the same page on how to create and maintain traffic infrastructure that moves past the 1950s into the 21st century while recognizing the space and population constraints we live under.

City residents also know much of what comes from the city’s Safe Streets for All plan is going to have to be paid for with either state money or grants, because the city won’t have the financial ability to pay for such major street reconstruction projects on its own without major tax increases. The cost of the work will be a major factor in determining how fast we can move forward with projects.

There is one question that is outside the city’s control – how to change people’s driving and pedestrian behavior to increase safety. We can spend millions on traffic infrastructure for the next 20 years, but behavior of both walkers, bikers and drivers is the biggest issue we face when it comes to creating safe streets for all. Changing behavior, as much as cost and physical improvements, will be the biggest task city planner Jason Kulaszewski and the city administration faces as it embarks in earnest on the Safe Streets for All process.