If a giant pothole erupted in the middle of Route 7 causing cars to smash into it and sustain damage to their shocks and undercarriage, they wouldn’t wait a year to fill it.

Yet people continue to get injured or killed on a stretch of Route 7 in Niskayuna, and the state continues on its schedule to implement a long-term safety plan in 2027.

We understand that the wheels of government grind slowly. And we understand that problems as complex as hazardous roadways require study and engineering, which take time and money.

But some residents of Niskayuna are understandably frustrated at the pace of the solutions.

The longer the state waits to do anything tangible about the issues of that stretch of highway, the more chances there are of people being killed or injured as a result of speeding cars.

The problems with the road are well-documented. We know that people speed through that stretch, regardless of the speed limit. We know that in just the past three years, that part of Route 7 has experienced 51 crashes, including five fatalities.

We also know that there are well-known and proven solutions available right now that don’t need to be studied or engineered.

So why not put some of those in place right now to at least make that stretch a bit safer while we wait for the permanent solutions?

At a meeting at Iroquois Middle School on Thursday, state officials said their plan includes reducing the width of traffic lanes to 11 feet and adding medians at certain spots to force drivers to go slowe. The plan also includes putting up speed monitoring signs and removing bus turnouts.

They say enacting those measures could reduce speeds by 10 to 13 mph., which could significantly improve safety.

Couldn’t some of those changes be implemented now? What would it take to narrow the travel lanes? A few gallons of paint? Could the state install temporary medians or put up some of those large plastic traffic dividers used at highway construction sites to serve as temporary median strips to slow down traffic? If speed monitoring signs are effective at encouraging drivers to slow down, why aren’t there several of them?

It’s great that the town has pushed for these changes and that the state Department of Transportation is working on a plan.

But until the plan is fully implemented, the road will continue to be unsafe. If there are proven measures that can be installed in the meantime without making the situation worse, then why wait to enact them?

© The Leader Herald