Ritchie Highway a national example of how not to build a road (again)
Maryland Police: Fallen Cyclist Shouldn’t Have Been on the Roadfrom Streetsblog by Angie Schmitt
Following Cyclist’s Hit-and-Run Death, Police Officers Blame the Victim: Alex Canales Hernandez, 25, was killed this week while cycling on Maryland’s Ritchie Highway — the same deadly highway that took the lives of two pedestrians in a single day in 2005. The police response? Cyclists probably shouldn’t be on Ritchie Highway.
Network blog Wash Cycle reports that police spokesman Justin Mulcahy said, “Certain stretches of roads should really be just for vehicles.” This stretch of road has claimed the lives of three people. Wash Cycle asks: How long will it take for local officials to recognize the problem? “Mulcahy seems to be blaming these cyclists for the crashes, instead of traffic engineers for failing to build complete streets. If the roads are only safe for driving, and some people can’t drive – then those people are just going to get hurt.”
<a href="http://streetsblog.net/2011/07/26/maryland-police-fallen-cyclist-shouldnt-have-been-on-the-road/">http://streetsblog.net/2011/07/26/maryland-police-fallen-cyclist-shouldnt-have-been-on-the-road/</a>;
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Man fatally hit by car outside Maryland court building
Tsk, tsk, State Road, State building and no sidewalk, what a waste.
<a href="http://www.baltimorespokes.org/article.php?story=20100605165625319">http://www.baltimorespokes.org/article.php?story=20100605165625319</a>;
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Leading Danger Zone for Injuries and Deaths
The report noted that 56% of pedestrian fatalities occur on roads that weren’t designed with pedestrian safety in mind. The report says arterial roads usually have multiple lanes, high speed limits, and few (if any) crossing signals or crosswalks. Other arterial loads linked to Baltimore pedestrian accidents include Ritchie Highway...
<a href="http://www.baltimorespokes.org/article.php?story=20091226123052575">http://www.baltimorespokes.org/article.php?story=20091226123052575</a>;
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And from 2009
Tragedy in AA County now a national example of whats wrong with our streets
Tragic Example: A 14 year-old girl was killed at 5:45 pm Friday while trying to cross Ritchie Highway (Route 2) on her bicycle in Pasadena, in Anne Arundel County. Police said that that the intersection isn't "designed, marked or engineered as a pedestrian crossing." What goes unmentioned is that there is no marked crossing anywhere nearby. The closest traffic signal, at Eastwest Boulevard, has no crosswalks or sidewalks.
<a href="http://www.baltimorespokes.org/article.php?story=20090220071020383">http://www.baltimorespokes.org/article.php?story=20090220071020383</a>;
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So we join Washcycle and ask : How long will it take for local officials to recognize the problem?
Again I'll note Maryland's 4th HIGHEST pedestrian fatality rate (there is a reason for this and it is NOT pedestrian error):
<a href="http://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/States/StatesPedestrians.aspx">http://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/States/StatesPedestrians.aspx</a>;
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