The time for political posturing is over.

Among the 11 vetoed bills overridden by the Legislature was the legislation that would provide $3 million over two years for pedestrian safety. At this point, the bill becomes law and the funds should be released — ideally.

But now the governor vows to stop that from happening because of a financing issue: She argues that the money should come out of the general fund, not the state highway fund, which she believes should be spent on projects that can be leveraged with federal dollars.

Granted, it may not be the ideal way to finance the program, but the governor has made this argument, and lost. Now it's time to move on.

Already, there have been 13 fatal pedestrian accidents in the state this year; 11 were on O'ahu. All deaths involved pedestrians older than 59, and a majority were over 70.

But this isn't just an elderly issue. According to the state Department of Health, children under the age of 15 have the highest rate of non-fatal pedestrian accidents.

Under Senate Bill 1191, the funds would go toward recalibrating traffic signals to allow more time to cross safely. Traffic countdown timers would be installed, along with better crosswalk markings and safer lighting.

The governor has said that counties are welcome to proceed with their own improvements. But the state must take the lead if it is committed to solving this public safety crisis. And Bruce Bottorff, associate state director of AARP-Hawai'i, rightly argues that counties can't tackle all the problem areas.

"There are parts of Farrington Highway that have proved to be very dangerous for pedestrians," he said of the state highway. "That doesn't fall under a county jurisdiction, so what happens there?"

Gov. Lingle said the Legislature "used pure political power to enact laws that will put the public's safety at risk."

The same could be said about not releasing the funds.

The political process is complete. Now it's time to place public safety first.