“We all know the car drives the American culture, but it doesn’t have to drive us where we don’t want to go.”

Jim Carignan, the former Bates dean and Lewiston city councilor, turned this phrase about eight years ago, about the then-proposed “flyover” between the Twin Cities.

He could dust off the same sentiments for Center Street in Auburn.

On Wednesday, business leaders, real estate agents and merchants united in criticizing proposed infrastructure changes to Center Street. A study has recommended several traffic congestion remedies, such as construction of a solid median and four new roundabouts.

Some see this as certain doom for Center Street businesses, especially the median, which conjures many negative comparisons to Western Avenue in Augusta. They cite traffic diversion into neighborhoods, and high business turnover, on roads split by impassable medians.

They point to smaller remedies – retiming lights and additional traffic enforcement – as solutions that should have been instituted yesterday, which cannot wait for a sprawling proposal to outline the Center Street of tomorrow.

We agree, in principle.

Anything that relieves congestion along Center Street should be done first, because simpler alternatives not only carry a lower cost, they could also change the long-view proposal by improving the conditions roundabouts and medians are meant to remedy.

From here, those with business and public safety concerns about Center Street should realize they’re fighting for common ground. The road has reached its traffic capacity, which makes it unsafe for drivers and also inhibits future growth along the corridor.

Though some real estate agents decried changes as hurtful for development, the opposite could also be true; instead of having potential clients frightened by the prospect of roadwork, they could also be heartened by the commitment to relieving Center Street’s gridlock.

This is where the details matter, because a better flowing Center Street is only good news for the public and for business. It could reduce demand on the Auburn Police Department, which cites the road as being responsible for 15 percent of all city car accidents.

As the controversy about the “flyover” shows, as well, the predictions for traffic changes are much worse than the reality. The Russell Street of today doesn’t look like a freeway, although traffic has increased enough to require the installation of new turning lanes, with few protests.

And few would argue the economic benefit of the connection.

Yet the project spurred a strong response, which deeply considered how and whether it should be built, the concerns of residents, and the needs of the community. The same should happen with Center Street, because for businesses, the road’s traffic is their livelihood.

So easy-to-implement solutions should come first. But before any roundabouts or medians are constructed, those involved with the project should start by building a bridge: one that connects safety needs with merchant concerns.