Let's force pedestrians to cross where they are getting killed for safety - Route 1 in College Park


By Jamie Forzato, WTOP


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University of Maryland President Wallace Loh recommended SHA, which owns and maintains the highway, approve a median barrier along Route 1 from Knox Road to Guilford Road -- a three-block stretch that is home to several popular bars and restaurants that get a high level of foot traffic on weekend nights.

"It is possibly one of the most dangerous stretches of state highway in the entire state," Loh says.

The barrier is a priority and Loh hopes it's among the upcoming improvements.

"We would like that barrier immediately," he says. "As soon as possible. Even [if] it's ugly. Even [if] it's temporary. We've been talking about this for a long time."

College Park City Councilman Patrick Wojahn (District 1) agrees: "There will likely be a barrier placed in the median on Route 1 in that area where there have been these pedestrian deaths."

But he wants to consider the plans carefully.

"We want to make sure that it's not something that will negatively impact the appearance of the Route 1 corridor," Wojahn says. "We don't want it to be something that will make it feel like a divided highway, which may cause traffic to move more quickly and may put more risk to the pedestrians that are crossing at the intersections where they should be crossing."

Still, Loh says, the need to protect pedestrians outweighs the need for a pleasant landscape.

"Quite honestly, there are people in the city who do not want the barrier because they think it's unsightly," he says. "I think safety of the students take precedence. After three deaths in the span of six months, I think safety is taking precedence over aesthetics."

Councilman Fazlul Kabir (District 1) calls Route 1 a "deathtrap" and says residents have told him they are discouraged from visiting the downtown College Park area because the highway is unsafe.

Three young adults were killed along this stretch since the beginning of the year, the most recent was 21-year-old Janelle Oni, who was killed last week by a drunk driver. [B' Spokes: Like a median fence is going to do something about drunk drivers. :/ ]

In January, University of Maryland student Cory Hubbard, 22, was struck and killed while crossing Route 1 near Knox Road. [B' Spokes: Per Google maps this has near invisible crosswalks.]

Three months later at the same intersection, George Washington University student Carlos Pacanins, 23, was struck and killed while near a crosswalk.
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<a href="http://www.wtop.com/?nid=893&amp;sid=3661916">http://www.wtop.com/?nid=893&amp;sid=3661916</a>;
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[B' Spokes: Let me state this as emphatically as I can, without police doing pedestrian crosswalk stings, crossing at intersections is unsafe!

Even when pedestrians have the right-of-way motorists feel their hurry is more important and will scare, intimidate, hit and even kill pedestrians because we all know pedestrians should not be &quot;Dead right.&quot; So when crossing at an intersection yield: to traffic behind you, in front of you as well as to your left and right.

I will strongly assert if you take as a given that motorist do not yield to pedestrians in crosswalks then jaywalking is the safest way to cross a road and this project does nothing for better safety at intersections and removes the possibility for safer crossing as well as increase the perception the road is only for cars, cars going fast.

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Near invisible crosswalks:
&quot;We conclude that, because high-visibility markings are more easily detected by motorists and have been shown to lead to a reduction in pedestrian-vehicle collisions when compared to [the type of markings that Maryland generally does.]&quot;
<a href="http://www.baltimorespokes.org/article.php?story=20130922203722411">http://www.baltimorespokes.org/article.php?story=20130922203722411</a>;

by B' Spokes

Like most people I live a hectic life and who has the time for much exercise? Thanks to xtracycle now I do. By using my bike for daily activities I can get things done and get an hour plus work out in 15 minutes extra of my time, not a bad deal and beats taking the extra time going to the gym. In case you are still having trouble being motivated; the National Center of Disease Control says that inactivity is the #2 killer in the United States just behind smoking. ( http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/bb_nutrition/ ) Get out there and start living life! I can carry home a full shopping cart of groceries, car pool two kids or just get lost in the great outdoors camping for a week. Well I got go, another outing this weekend.
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