There are many reasons a new library at K2 Commons makes sense. It would “repurpose” an existing structure, sit right on the highway and give Islanders what we were promised ­when we voted in favor of a multi-million bond measure — a bigger space.

But it comes, in our opinion, at a price.

How sweet it is for parents to romp with their children at the park and then stroll into the library. How fantastic it is for elderly residents who live in the apartments behind the library to walk to what has become for some a kind of civic center.

And in this time when many of us are trying to get out of our cars, how nice it is to drive into town and do all of our errands on foot — including trotting to the library to drop off our books.

Do we want really need a larger library? And if so, is it really so hard for the King County Library System and the Vashon Park District to put aside their differences and find a compromise that would keep the library at Ober Park?

K2 Commons may or may not come to fruition. And if it doesn’t, we may find officials working once again to keep the libray in the park. But as it is right now, one wonders if our public officials are really listening to the people they are hired to serve or stuck on a course of action that may not, in fact, be in our best interests.

It is noteworthy — and praiseworthy — that park commissioner Bill Ameling made an overture to the library system. But he, his colleagues and the library system need to take it one step further. It’s time for all of them to think hard about what’s in Vashon’s best interest and try again to find a solution that will benefit Islanders for years to come.