Although the contingent of attendees got a little wet from a sudden rainstorm, last Tuesday was a good day at the groundbreaking of the new traffic signal being installed in front of Bainbridge High School.

It was good not only to see a much-needed addition in the red light itself to drastically help in the traffic flow, and in turn the safety of the students and parents traveling to and from the high school, but to see the cooperation it took to make this happen.

Lots of people in different levels of government played a role in bringing this project to fruition.

In these recent times of governmental entities not always being able to work together, it was refreshing to see our state-level representatives, our city representatives, and our Board of Education representatives exhibit a high level of cooperation to get this done.

It took five years and lots of calls, meetings, and, sometimes, arm twisting, but after the signal is installed in time for the first day of school on Aug. 7, the traffic flow and the area on Highway 84 will be much safer.

Senator Dean Burke, Representative Jay Powell and Representative Darlene Taylor were all present for the groundbreaking ceremony last Tuesday, as was Johnny Floyd, board member of the Georgia Department of Transportation.

While holding a ceremony marking the beginning of installation of a red light might seem trivial to some, the fact that these folks attended such an event speaks to the importance

I would almost guarantee that the parents of those students driving to and from the high school on a daily basis understand the importance of and need for the red light.

Thanks to Decatur County schools superintendent Dr. Fred Rayfield for his tireless work in making this happen. I have sat in many meetings, in many different settings, over the past couple of years with Rayfield explaining the importance of having a traffic control devise in front of the high school. Those efforts have now paid off.

And thanks to Chris Hobby and the City of Bainbridge for their efforts. Over the past several years, Bainbridge Public Safety officers have been at the high school every morning and every afternoon directing traffic.

As a parent of an upcoming sophomore, my daughter McKenzie, at the high school, the installation of the light makes me feel much betterabout her driving to and from in a year.

Although there have been numerous accidents, of varying levels of seriousness, in the area of the school over the past couple of years, we are very fortunate that those accidents didn’t result in any fatalities or serious injuries. I truly believe that these efforts to get the red light located in front of the high school will prevent injuries and save lives.