Elementary pupils start school in Auburn next Wednesday, including those attending the new, as-yet-unnamed Park Street School.

We urge motorists to use more than the usual amount of caution until the new traffic pattern there – with buses and parents dropping off and picking up – is well established.

Because of retail development along Mt. Auburn Avenue, Park Street has increasingly become a cutaway from Court Street for shoppers in a hurry.

Parents of incoming students have already voiced safety concerns, worried about the volume and speed of traffic along Park Street.

According to school officials, most students will be walking to school, using a paved path from Orchard Street to the school grounds. Students who live on or across from Park Avenue will be bused, even if they live just a couple of yards away.

That’s the plan, but students will undoubtedly miss the bus or not want to take the bus home, and they will walk on Park Street, a road that has no sidewalks. While the district has applied for grants to set sidewalks, construction could be years away. That’s a lot of time to hope no one gets hurt.

The city has installed signs warning drivers to slow down as they approach the school, and lights will flash to slow traffic at the start and end of the school day. Police are planning on extra patrols, but the responsibility for student safety rests largely with motorists.

It’s a new school, and students are eager to get there. Let’s watch for walkers and slow down along that stretch to ensure children arrive safely.

Keep promise on Odd Fellows hall

We share the frustration of Norway selectmen who learned last week that the Growth Council of Oxford Hills has abandoned its plan to refurbish the former Odd Fellows hall on Main Street.

The hall is a prominent feature in this cozy downtown and stands next to the Opera House, another building – which is privately owned – that has been poised for rehabilitation for years.

The Growth Council bought the place in 2002, intending to fix it up and fill it with tenants. It’s been empty since the Growth Council took ownership.

The plan was abandoned because the council’s board of directors just didn’t think they could raise the $2 million required to do the job. We think they’re underestimating the financial resources of the Oxford Hills and the desire for residents to see that hall returned to use.

The Growth Council had a $500,000 loan for this project in hand and had invested another $135,000 in prepping the building – including removing hazardous wiring and rotten siding. That’s nearly 40 percent of the $2 million goal already. Raising the rest seems manageable, given the promise to this community to fix the place up.

If not the Growth Council, we suggest another developer step forward quickly and get this stalled project moving.

The Growth Council has offered to gift the town of Norway what remains of the $500,000 loan, which is something close to $420,000. We suggest, instead, those funds be used to incent a developer to step forward.

If the loan was sought for the Odd Fellows hall, that’s where it ought to be spent.