The city of Lake Charles says it’s going to study the cost of putting in sidewalks on McNeese Street leading up to Barbe High School.

Depending on the cost, this seems like it could be money well spent.

There is no question that with all the talk of a boom coming to Southwest Louisiana, there are higher profile jobs out there to be done.

However, that doesn’t mean that all small projects should be put on hold. It is important that a good project that would increase the safety to the community be considered strongly, no matter what the size.

These sidewalks seem like just such a project.

On any given school day, cars line the streets heading toward Barbe, loaded with not only parents but also student drivers. Sometimes, especially in the early-morning hours or on bad-weather days, it is easy to become distracted.

That leaves students who walk to school in some tough spots.

If they are walking down McNeese Street, they must decide whether to walk on the road’s shoulder, close to traffic, or across the lawns of homeowners, many of whom would rather they didn’t.

If it is raining or wet, the students will stay closer to the road to keep their feet dry for the long day ahead. This makes things increasingly dangerous when a driver’s visibility is impaired.

So it would seem that one solution would be for the city to invest in the sidewalks. It would make the flow of traffic better for all parties, the homeowners, drivers and pedestrians.

Things can get especially tight for all when the walkers must work around the fence on the north side of the street to reach the school’s property.

This would also help when it comes to Friday night home football games.

Often the crowd at Barbe is large, and cars are parked all the way down toward Nelson Road. All of those people also must take the walk down McNeese to get to and from the game.

Those are more steps across freshly mowed lawns and toward cars.

Often you can see both students and adults darting in and out of traffic after games at night, making things even more dangerous.

This is not to say the city should spend money wildly just because one or two residents are concerned. Our elected officials need to act wisely with our dollars.

Still, we can’t overlook the need to keep people, especially kids on their way to school, safe.

While we wait to see what the final numbers will be for the project, it is nice to know that, with all the talk of the big things getting most of the attention, the little things that keep us safe are also being considered.(MGNonline)