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By NOAH WORTHAM | Managing Editor

In the wake of the Columbiana City Council’s decision to pass a resolution prohibiting right turns on red, many residents have taken to social media to express their disagreement with the council’s decision—a decision that is a great idea and long overdue.

The city of Columbiana is my hometown, where I attend church and the location of my workplace, so it is safe to say I spend the majority of my time here. And as someone who is invested in this city, I consistently utilize Main Street to walk to my favorite businesses.

Columbiana Main Street is easily one of the greatest strengths of the city and gives it that small-town charm. Now there are more businesses there than I’ve ever seen before. It’s slowly developing into a great city center, full of places to eat, shop and enjoy entertainment thanks to the Shelby County Arts Council.

However, Main Street faces a lot of issues. As a historic location, the area was developed without modern engineering and without the foresight to properly support the ever-increasing amount of traffic that flows through its streets. All it takes is one look at the crooked intersection of West College Street and East College Street to see some of the area’s flaws. I dare you to try to make a left turn onto south Main Street without the green light changing before you even get an opening during the peak morning hours or after school lets out.

However, perhaps the greatest flaw is the amount of times myself and others have almost been hit by cars while simply trying to traverse Main Street. Even when pedestrians rightly wait for a red light to cross, they may be hit by a driver making a right turn who either isn’t paying attention or can’t even see where they’re turning. Many drivers have taken to pulling onto the crosswalk just so that they can see oncoming traffic and whether or not it’s clear to turn. Due to the area’s wonky design, there are clear blind spots on Main Street and drivers are simply adjusting to them.

Is waiting a few more seconds to make your right turns from now on really worth all the fuss? Are we really that impatient that we need to continue risking lives so that we can get to our destination 30 seconds faster?

Let’s be honest, no right on red is a necessary Band-Aid to the greater problem. Columbiana Main Street needs pedestrian signals and it needed them yesterday. If the city of Columbiana wants to continue to invest in Main Street, then something needs to be done. All it takes is one glance at Montevallo Main Street just a few minutes down the road to see it done rightly.