We’ve all been there, in one way or another. Running late to class and driving along the street only to be stopped by a horde of pedestrians not once, but seven times. It’s frustrating. But that’s the way 16th Street works. Even if you are not the one behind the wheel you know what it’s like to try and make your way across one of those crosswalks and try to avoid being hit by a driver that doesn’t want to slow down.

There have been 26 people injured while crossing. Seventy-five wrecks. One hundred ninety-six collisions resulting in property damage. All in the past five years. All on 16th Street.

Something needs to be done, and we are happy to send some praise the city’s way for resolving to do something about it. The city has hired an engineering firm to study traffic on the road and come up with a way to make 16th Street safer for drivers and pedestrians alike. When the study concludes, the firm will offer poential solutions for the city of Murray to consider – we have a few of our own we would like to contribute.

Limiting the number of crosswalks on 16th Street would be a solution that would be favorable to drivers and relieve some of the drag that builds up going onto 16th Street from Five Points. While this solution could increase the traffic on the number of crosswalks that remain, it would ultimately speed the process along by allowing a quicker flow of car traffic as pedestrians move to the fewer crosswalks that remain.

Another solution that would be favorable to pedestrians and reduce the potential for collisions and injuries would be to drop the speed limit on 16th Street from 25 mph to 15 mph. Doing so would provide pedestrians with a greater guarantee of safety and provide drivers with less chance to cause damage to one another’s vehicles in a rear-end collision.

Whatever the city decides, something needs to be done to alleviate the problem that is 16th Street. There is absolutely no reason for 26 Murray State students to have been injured walking across the street in the past 5 years. It is inexcusable that we should see 75 wrecks and 196 collisions in a five-year period on a single street.

The administration needs to back the city up on whatever proposal it comes up with to address the problem, so long as students are kept in mind. Regardless of what comes out as the final solution to the 16th Street problem, students need to remain active and engaged in shaping that solution so that it reflects the interests of students first.

The staff editorial is the majority opinion of The Murray State News Editorial Board.