And that’s exactly what has happened in the case of the campaign by parents at Carenne School to have a pedestrian crossing installed across Browning Street to make it safer for their kids travelling to and from school.

This was always one of those stories that left most of our readers scratching their heads and wondering what they were missing.

The idea of a crossing outside a school for students with special needs just seemed a no-brainer and it was a little shocking that there was a need for the debate at all.

But now we’ve had the debate and finally there is a resolution to the satisfaction of all parties – a “children’s crossing” that will remain only in operation during school drop-off and pick-up times.

It’s such a simple solution that it’s hard to believe such a crossing has not been there this whole time. But that’s what happens when bureaucracies insist on applying criteria and formulae to every situation.

In this case, we were told that traffic numbers along Browning Street did not allow for a crossing outside Carenne School – regardless of the special circumstances at the school.

As any number of posters on the Western Advocate Facebook page noted, though, it would take just one car to cause an accident as parents struggle with students who may not have a full appreciation of road safety.

The idea that their school should be denied a similar crossing to the one outside just about every other school in Bathurst’s CBD seemed laughable to all except those who had the raw data to prove there wasn’t a problem.

Sometimes, though, the numbers just don’t add up. And that’s when bureaucrats need to put their spreadsheets to one side and make a decision based on listening to those most directly involved.