A common sense approach to address the variety of traffic issues in Rapid City means the Gap may fall lower on the to-do list.

Last week, the possibility of pursuing a major study to analyze the crash history of city roads and look at safety improvements was announced. It hasn't been finalized yet, but may get the city nod.

That's good - there are numerous spots on Rapid City streets could be improved and would be indentified with a study. But the Gap - where a man and his son died in a motorcycle/van accident leading to an outcry for a traffic solution there last summer - may not be a high priority as some had hoped.

"If we're going to put a median in some place, is that really the highest priority? We haven't really looked at all the streets. Where do we have the biggest problems?" community planning coordinator Monica Heller told the Journal. "If we're going to spend money, where's the best place to spend that to solve safety problems?"

The traffic safety analysis is being proposed by the city and the Metropolitan Planning Organization. Costing $50,000 to $100,000, the study - which is not yet approved - could take up to a year to complete.

Like we said, this is a common-sense approach to spending money and solving traffic problems: identify the problem areas and then allocate resources. But the Gap needs attention, study or no. The council should realize this and keep that stretch of road top of mind.

Traffic in the Gap is a fast-paced accident in waiting. The council's summer decision to restrict right hand turns on red from Jackson Boulevard was a step in the right direction but still only a step.

The Gap should be dealt with independent of an in-depth study. For instance, to immediately improve Gap traffic, stop drivers from turning left over the double line into Gap businesses. That would improve safety immensely; and, restrict turns to right hand only - into the flow of traffic.

The Gap isn't off the council's radar. The possibility of a $200,000 median is being studied by the Capital Improvement Program committee and they did restrict right turns to open up some gaps in the constant flow of traffic.

As the city embarks on a common-sense approach to indentifying problem areas, let's not forget there needs to be some common sense shown in the Gap at the same time.