Lawrence school district officials had reasons for wanting to move quickly on a plan to build new athletic fields near Lawrence High School, but it’s good they also could recognize the advantages of slowing the project down.

Plans to build new LHS fields near the high school and near the former Centennial School building have drawn both support and protest from neighbors in the surrounding Centennial Neighborhood. Despite the protests, the school district received the necessary approvals last week from the Lawrence City Commission to move forward on the project with a few revisions.

Rather than preparing to break ground, however, the Lawrence school board has decided to put off a vote on both the LHS project and a similar project at Free State High School until Oct. 13. That will give officials time to carefully revise their plans and, hopefully, try to address some of the concerns expressed by neighbors.

It seems unlikely, at this point, that the LHS project won’t go forward, but that doesn’t mean it’s too late to talk with residents and consider revising the plan to make it more palatable for those who live nearby. Maybe school officials won’t be able to allay the fears of neighbors, but it’s worth an additional four weeks to give it a try.

These facilities will be in place a long time. There’s no reason not to take a few more weeks to try to get them right.