Though some would rather dismiss the remarks of Fredonia Police Chief David Price, he is absolutely correct. “With the construction that has come through, there’s been a couple of times they restriped, reconfigured this highway, and now our pedestrians are having a hard time getting across the street,” he said at a Village Board meeting earlier this month.

Price’s comments were made during discussions about Complete Streets with the goal of making downtown roads safer for pedestrians and cyclists. While no one seemed opposed to that idea, there was a worry about a potential proposal for medians on Main Street — which is the state-maintained Route 20. Village Trustee David Bird was the most vocal about the plan and believes more public comment is needed.

While he backs the Complete Street concept, he thinks medians will make it tougher on emergency vehicles. “My concerns mostly fall under police, fire and ambulance traffic, but the medians will also create a traffic nightmare with all trucking on the street as well as deliveries,” he said recently.

In March, County Legislator Susan Parker helped convene a forum on safer streets. There is a definite consensus that changes are needed for a safer environment.

Would medians be a piece to that effort? Village residents — and maybe even State University of New York at Fredonia officials and students — need to be a part of the conversation.