It’s not easy steering the course of an uncertain future. Just ask the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission.

The planning agency’s Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) is in the midst of a $1.5 million, two-year project to upgrade and synchronize more than 50 traffic signals in locations across Butler and northern Allegheny counties. The federally-funded project, a TIP-PennDOT joint venture known as SINC-UP, includes 13 intersections in Butler.

From SPC’s point of view, transportation improvement must take into account all modes of transportation: cars and trucks, certainly, but also bicycles, pedestrians, trains, planes and wheelchairs, even the motorized scooter kind. It also strives to accommodate the needs and wishes of each municipal government involved.

With that in mind, Butler City Council, working cooperatively with TIP and PennDOT, made the right move Tuesday when it decided to maintain the cycle of the traffic lights that allows pedestrians to cross the street while all traffic is stopped. Instead of voting on the change, council simply pulled the issue off the agenda, calling it a matter of public safety.

Maintaining the pedestrian-only phase was the right move for a multitude of reasons; among them is Butler’s significant population of residents with disabilities, including sight-impaired pedestrians who rely on the signals’ audible prompts — a unique feature in downtown Butler.

Council members indicated they had been asked by SPC to consider dropping the pedestrian-only phase to improve the flow of traffic on Main Street. Apparently, that discussion was more formality than serious proposal: City Zoning Officer John Evans said elimination of the pedestrian-only phase was never part of the project’s plans.

Chuck DiPietro, director of SPC’s TIP department, agrees that Butler made the right decision.

Even without eliminating the pedestrian phase, improvements and synchronization can shorten the average drive down Butler’s Main Street by about 17 percent, according to TIP estimates.

Let’s face it: Getting through the city will never be a road race. As Mayor Maggie Stock points out, there’s parallel parking, cross traffic, left-hand turns and, yes, plenty of pedestrians to contend with. And they all have a right to get around town with a reasonable expectation of safety.

The pedestrians-only phase is rather unique to Butler. But then again, so is the amount of pedestrian activity Butler has for a municipality of its size. It’s a fixture that should stay.