Elected officials are usually well-intended, but sometimes they are too willing to make new laws restricting citizen rights without thinking it all the way through.

A case in point is the Island County commissioners’ decision to outlaw parking in the rural area at the end of the Navy’s practice airfield south of Coupeville. Bowing to the Navy’s wishes, the commissioners banned parking on portions of Patmore and Keystone roads, where people occasionally park so they can watch jets fly low overhead. From such a vantage point, one can not only see the underside of the jets close-up, and you can also feel their power. It was a thrilling place to take visitors to the island if you were lucky enough to be driving by when the jets were practicing their touch-and-go aircraft carrier landings.

Certainly, the vantage point posed some danger. After all, an airplane could fall out of the sky and land on your car. But this has never happened in several decades of airplane-watching in the area, and society can’t eliminate all dangers from life. If that were the case, people couldn’t use nearby Highway 20. Driving past the Outlying Field is far more dangerous than stopping to watch the planes. Besides, part of living an enjoyable life is taking some risks, whether it’s climbing mountains, boating or watching airplanes.

There are hundreds of homes in the area of Outlying Field that are in more danger than the occasional carload of people who stop to watch the jets.

The Navy also cited several vandalism incidents in requesting that parking in the area be made illegal. However, it’s unlikely a few “no parking” signs will deter vandals, in fact the signs might make the area more attractive to mischief-makers.

The Navy can’t be blamed for being hypersensitive. The military is famous for being extremely careful and cautious when dealing with the civilian population. When in doubt make it off-limits and keep people out, it’s easier that way.

But the Island County commissioners have a different role in life. They represent a large civilian population that doesn’t need any more restrictions on what can they can do on Whidbey Island. Deciding to place a few no parking signs at the end of Outlying Field wasn’t a big thing, but it was the wrong thing. Had they thought about it a little more deeply, they probably would have made a different decision.