Evans City officials should always be looking for ways to make the community's annual Oktoberfest celebration and other events more friendly.

Friendly, in this instance, means making such activities as least disruptive as possible to the town's normal goings-on. Evans City's location on busy Route 68 puts more pressure on the community to try to avoid disruption, although the borough can rightfully be criticized for not being more proactive in getting traffic through the borough during rush hours.

During heavy afternoon traffic volume, for example, vehicles often are backed up from the downtown business district past the stoplight at Route 528 west of town, as well as a distance up Route 528 — with no police in sight trying to alleviate the congestion, which results in part because of the timing of traffic lights in the town.

While borough officials ponder police Chief Joe McCombs' new suggestion that the borough consider moving the annual Oktoberfest celebration from its current location on Wahl Avenue and North Jackson Street, council members also should spend time on the issue of business day traffic.

No doubt hundreds of motorists — or more — would be grateful if borough officials could alleviate the community's current status as a workday traffic bottleneck.

Regarding the Oktoberfest event, McCombs told the borough council that the current festival location creates a traffic roadblock and keeps some residents from reaching their homes or getting to Main Street. The chief said the location also is a burden to dozens of homeowners on Wahl Avenue whose sidewalks become obstructed by the festival food vendors and other booths.

Instead of the festival staying where it has been for years, McCombs suggested relocating it to the south of Main Street on Jefferson and Jackson streets near the public library.

At that location, the festival would affect only three homeowners, although the proposed site would necessitate rerouting the Oktoberfest parade.

Should the council approve McCombs' suggestion, it wouldn't be the first time that the festival was moved. During its early years, Oktoberfest was held on Main Street; it was moved after businesses complained about vendors obstructing their storefronts.

If the council is open-minded and promises to consider McCombs' suggestion, it should commit itself to being as accommodating to people who endure weekday, commuting traffic jams in Evans City.

Evans City doesn't benefit from this business day traffic. Workers, tired and impatient about getting home but caught up in the Evans City congestion, aren't likely to stop and patronize borough businesses.

More likely, the congestion keeps some local residents from patronizing those businesses when commuter traffic is heavy.

McCombs was right in asking the council to rethink the Oktoberfest location. However, he was remiss in not reminding the council that the borough would be more all-around friendly — as well as helpful to local merchants — if the borough could improve traffic flows during weekday rush hours.

But the council shouldn't need a suggestion from McCombs to address that traffic issue. Trouble is, the council has turned a blind eye to this problem that many other communities, faced with a similar issue, have been able to, if not fully resolve, at least significantly improve.

Like the decision regarding Oktoberfest, the traffic issue shouldn't wait until next fall for serious discussion.