EDITORIAL:

Calming traffic.

That sounds a lot like trying to soothe the savage beast.

And, believing they had the green light from the City Council to do just that, city traffic engineers went to work, composing potential guidelines for where to place speed humps, roundabouts, wider curbs and S curves.

While that’s a noble effort, Costa Mesa city officials now seem conflicted on just how to achieve that goal, as the council majority, led by Mayor Allan Mansoor, looks destined to kill the staff work altogether.

Whether Mansoor is on the right road here is still up for debate. But what isn’t up for debate is that neighborhoods throughout Costa Mesa and beyond struggle with traffic issues every day. Speeding cars, stop sign runners and congestion can be a daily part of life, which is a surefire way to destroy a neighborhood.

And residents rightly ask, “Does it have to be that way?”

Here’s some advice for Mansoor and the rest of the City Council: Answer that question before you dismiss outright the measures created by traffic engineers.

Residents have clearly said they want relief from traffic. The attendance at the city’s town hall meeting in April was proof of that.

Still, we agree with former Councilman Gary Monahan that such measures can pit neighbor against neighbor. And we aren’t convinced that speed humps and roundabouts are the most cost-effective way to calm traffic either.

That’s why these proposals need to be well-thought-out and studied.

Because doing nothing shouldn’t be an option either.

Sure the city has measures in place now, as Mansoor noted, but if the mayor listens to his constituents, he will hear that those measures aren’t working.

Mansoor needs to take the leadership here and push forward with a plan that the entire council can agree upon and that the residents can point to as a good-government solution.

Simply saying that the laws are already on the books is a cop-out and a clear message to the public that the council, at least the majority, is not listening.