SAFETY IS A PARENTAL MATTER

As so often happens, there are trade-offs with development and progress in a city. In Cape Girardeau, a new Highway 74, which eventually will connect Interstate 55 on the city's west end with a new Mississippi River bridge to Illinois, is a fine example of a multilane highway that opens up for development a large portion of southwest Cape Girardeau. The route also adds another east-west arterial route for Cape Girardeau. Such existing routes are among the most congested in the city.

The trade-offs come in the form of safety concerns along the new five-lane highway. The state highway department erected a fence to discourage pedestrians from crossing what eventually will be a heavily travelled road. But for a young person headed to school, for example, it is too easy to simply scale the fence and cross the highway rather than walking down to Highway 74's intersection with Sprigg Street, which has the only signalized crosswalk.

As a result, more students at May Greene School on the city's south side are taking the bus. Typically, the district only buses students who live more than a mile from their school. The new highway has changed that, and students who must cross it have been added to bus routes.

Officers with the Cape Girardeau Police Department will speak to May Greene students about safety at the intersection, but there might be other measures that can be taken in the future to improve safety.

If the fence were taller, for example, it would be harder to climb and would reduce the number of people on the highway. But it is impossible to protect all residents from every harm. The most effective safety measure might be for parents, police and school officials to explain to youngsters the risks of crossing a busy highway.