Pedestrian Safety

Pedestrian safety has been a hot topic in Montgomery County over the past few weeks. Last Friday, December 13th, a Walter Johnson student was taken to a local hospital with serious injuries after being struck on the intersection between Montrose Road and Bargate Court. Just the day before, a Bradley Hills Elementary student was struck and killed in Bethesda. However, this safety hazard is not a new epidemic. According to a WJLA article, six pedestrians within our county were struck in a three hour period on the evening of Monday, November 12th, 2018, with the most serious of the injuries occurring in Rockville Town Square.

Since this has been a pressing public safety issue for a while, questions have arisen about the measures that will be taken to prevent any further injuries and fatalities. One notable solution created by county leaders has been dubbed “Vision Zero.” Similar to its multinational, Swedish born namesake, Vision Zero is a plan to reduce pedestrian fatalities to zero. When asked for comment, Zoe Tishaev, the Clarksburg SGA president and intern for the county council, expressed that “Vision Zero can’t just be a vision. It has to be a perspective.” Tishaev stated that it’s up to Montgomery County drivers to commit to not being distracted while behind the wheel.

In addition to individual worries, many local advocacy groups have expressed their own concerns. In an Instagram post, MCR-SGA (county wide SGA) communicated their sorrow about the issue, and stated “We need more policies to be put in place for the safety of all Montgomery County pedestrians.” The Twitter account for the Montgomery County government (@MontgomeryCoMD) also tweeted to “Be on the lookout for one another” in a tweet about bike safety. Pedestrian safety is quickly gaining traction among advocates on all levels of government, and Tishaev even mentioned the positive effects restricting cars and driving could have. “...We need to acknowledge the source of the problem: cars kill 37,000 people every year in the United States. Pedestrian on pedestrian collisions kill… 0… we need to focus our enforcement efforts on restraining cars, eliminating distracted driving, and giving pedestrians, cyclist, and scooterists the infrastructure to stay safe and comfortable on the roads, without having to fear the possibility of getting hit by a hulking automobile.”

-Kendall Daniels, sophomore at Damascus High School