St. Mary’s Church is doing the right thing by installing gates at its cemetery on Chestnut Street.

In the past, this might not have been necessary. Most folks would never have considered parking within the cemetery in order to have a shorter walk to the Friday night high school football game taking place across the street.

However, these days folks typically seek the easiest route, the simplest solution, even if it’s not the best choice. Plus, drivers steering by GPS-enabled phones may see the cemetery roads as indistinguishable from the primary roads and feel like they’ve discovered a great place to park.

Regardless of why they’re parking there, they are, and it is not healthy for the cemetery or those who care about it. No, the visiting motorists are not intentionally doing harm, but they are creating the potential for harm.

When entering or exiting the cemetery at night, which includes driving, parking, U-turns and five-point turns, motorists may park on gravesites, crush flowers and mementos, trample the grounds or even damage or topple gravestones. The more times motorists park there, the greater the risk for damage.

Installing seldom-used gates as a way to protect both the physical and spiritual sanctity of the cemetery is a smart and logical solution.