Change is difficult. It is especially intractable when it comes to people in their cars and businesses, no matter how worthy the goal. So it is with the trial Complete Streets project in Chinatown.

Honolulu is committed to making itself an “Age Friendly City”, with a place in the World Health Organization’s global network of age-friendly cities. In 2014, the community developed an action plan with specific goals to make our city better for kupuna, and as a consequence for everyone. Age Friendly Honolulu, an advisory organization of 37 private and 32 governmental organizations, was formed under the auspices of Department of Community Services to that end.

For kupuna, transportation is basically about the ability to remain mobile, active and move safely about in our communities as we age; it’s both a transportation matter, and one of health and wellness.

To our detriment, Honolulu is the fourth worst city in the nation for pedestrian fatalities for those over age 64. Nationally, 15 percent of traffic fatalities are pedestrians; in Hawaii it’s 25 percent. Nationally, there are 2.1 pedestrian deaths age 65 and above per 100,000 populations; in Honolulu it is 4.3, twice as many. These numbers are horrible, and reflect a condition especially foreboding for our population that is aging fast; by 2030, 25 percent of us will be over 65. Something must be done.

In 2012 the City Council passed an ordinance directing a Complete Streets framework for managing our public rights of way and the administration has wholeheartedly leaned into that task. Complete Streets is a commitment to making sure all roadway users — pedestrian, cyclist, transit and motorist — are safely accommodated. As we implement Complete Streets, our transportation system consequently becomes age friendly.

It is literally a matter of life and death that we address the exceptionally high death rate of elderly pedestrians, and we need to begin where there is a substantial concentration of pedestrian crashes and a high concentration of older citizens. Chinatown is one such place, where 45 percent of residents walk or take public transit to work.

A necessary requirement to reduce pedestrian carnage is to make crosswalks safer (in Honolulu roughly one-third of pedestrian injuries occur in crosswalks). Bulbouts are a proven way to do this; they enhance visibility of pedestrians, reduce vehicular speed, increase the frequency of yielding by oncoming drivers and reduce the severity of collisions. Bulbouts work. Yet it is change, and the complaints from some are loud.

Streets are the biggest single category of developed public space in Honolulu. They are relatively fixed in the urban core, and must accommodate an ever-growing population, soon to be comprised 25 percent by kupuna. There simply is no room for ever-more cars. There will inevitably have to be more walking, including to the bus and eventually rail. This will involve trade-offs. The vision of a Honolulu where everyone from kupuna to keiki can safely walk, bike, or take transit is well worth the challenge.

We have a long way to go, and the Chinatown project is a start. So, let’s hear the complaints, make adjustments based on common sense and sound engineering design, but not yield in the necessary steps to make our streets complete and our city age friendly. Those goals lead to a better future for all of us.

John B. Goody is chairman of the Age Friendly Honolulu transportation committee.