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Make Walking to School Safe in Montgomery County
Walking to and from school in Montgomery County is not safe. In just this school year, the media have reported the following incidents:
- Christina Morris-Ward, age 15, was struck by a car and killed on the way to Seneca Valley High School in Germantown (October 31).
- A child was struck by a car while in a crosswalk on the way to Westbrook Elementary School in Bethesda (December 11).
- A stroller with a baby in it was struck by a car while in a marked crosswalk during the walk signal, next to Bethesda Elementary School in Bethesda (February 27).
- A student at Watkins Mill High School in Gaithersburg was struck by a car while in a marked crosswalk that leads to the school grounds (March 12).
- Two children and their mother were struck by a car while on the sidewalk one block from Gaithersburg Elementary School in Gaithersburg (March 12).
And unsafe walking conditions also cost all Montgomery County residents millions and millions of dollars a year. These costs include:
- hazard busing of children who live within walking distance of school;
- time, fuel, and traffic congestion from car trips to drive children to and from school;
- traffic-related air pollution from car trips to drive children to and from school;
- public health costs, including premature deaths, from this traffic-related air pollution;
- public health costs, including decreased physical activity and mental well-being, from children not walking to school.
We therefore ask MCDOT to carry out the following 10 low-cost actions to make walking and bicycling to and from school safer and more convenient for children in Montgomery County:
Action | Reason for request | Engineering cost |
---|---|---|
Amend Montgomery County’s criteria for school zones to include all roads under county jurisdiction within a half-mile radius of a school. | To allow MCDOT to reduce speed limits and increase fines on roads near schools, per Maryland Code Section 21-803.1. | None. |
Establish a maximum speed limit of 20 mph during school hours (including arrival and dismissal) on all roads under county jurisdiction in school zones. | To decrease the risk of child pedestrian accidents by up to 70%. | $350 per sign, including installation. |
Double the fines for speeding violations on all roads under county jurisdiction in school zones. | To increase drivers’ motivation to slow down. | None. |
Put in leading pedestrian intervals for traffic signals at signalized intersections where at least one of the roads is an arterial, on all roads under county jurisdiction in school zones. | To reduce conflicts between pedestrians and motorists at traffic signals. | $3,500 per intersection to retime a traffic signal. |
At intersections with traffic signals and pedestrian pushbuttons, have the walk signal displayed at every signal cycle during school hours (including arrival and dismissal), either by putting the signals in pedestrian “recall” during school hours or by removing the pedestrian pushbuttons, on all roads under county jurisdiction in school zones. | To increase pedestrian compliance with the walk signal. | $3,500 per intersection to retime a traffic signal. |
Retime the traffic signals during school hours (including arrival and dismissal) such that the wait for a walk signal on any leg of the intersection is never longer than 40 seconds, on all roads under county jurisdiction in school zones. | To increase pedestrian compliance with the walk signal. | $3,500 per intersection to retime a traffic signal. |
Use a walking speed of 2.5 feet per second to calculate the minimum pedestrian clearance interval at traffic signals, on all roads under county jurisdiction in school zones. | To give all pedestrians, including children and adults pushing strollers, enough time to cross. | $3,500 per intersection to retime a traffic signal. |
Prohibit right turns on red during school hours (including arrival and dismissal), on all roads under county jurisdiction in school zones. | To reduce conflicts between pedestrians and drivers at traffic signals. | $350 per sign, including installation. |
Mark all crosswalks with a ladder or zebra crosswalk, using material embedded with retroreflective glass beads, on all roads under county jurisdiction in school zones. | To encourage pedestrians to cross at crosswalks while increasing the visibility of pedestrian crossings, as well as driver awareness. | $300 per ladder crosswalk. |
Narrow all travel lanes to 10 feet wide, on all roads under county jurisdiction in school zones. | To reduce the risk of serious pedestrian injury by reducing motor vehicle speed and reducing the length of pedestrian crossings across travel lanes. | $1,000 per mile. |
In addition, we ask MCDOT to work with the Montgomery County Department of Police to carry out the following actions:
- To increase driver awareness, ensure that at least as many citations and warnings are issued to drivers as to pedestrians during pedestrian safety enforcement campaigns in school zones.
- To slow motor vehicles by making drivers more aware of their speed, place mobile speed display signs on arterial streets within school zones.
Thank you for your attention, and we look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Tina Slater, President
Action Committee for Transit
Shane Farthing, Executive Director
Washington Area Bicycle Association
Christina Ginsberg, Rockville
Steve Lahn, Gaithersburg
Wendy Leibowitz, Bethesda
Carol Oberdorfer, Dickerson
Janet Pearlman, Germantown
Elisa Rapaport, Bethesda
Tracy Simmons, Bethesda
Ruthanne Stoltzfus, Germantown
Marisol Vela, Damascus
Gwen Ward, Hagerstown
Learn more about pedestrian problems in Montgomery County
from ACT's main pedestrian page.