Reply to Bowser promised “zero traffic deaths” 10 years ago, but fatalities have doubled

Forum Index » Metropolitan DC Local Politics

Reply to "Bowser promised “zero traffic deaths” 10 years ago, but fatalities have doubled "

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Getting rid of Right Turn On Red would make the streets a lot safer — particularly for pedestrians.

RTOR introduced an additional layer of judgements by drivers vs Stop On Red.  Many drivers do rolling stops, and some don’t even stop anymore. The more predictable drivers are the safer it will be for pedestrians.

Drivers also need to give pedestrians the right of way — a practice that’s no longer universal.  I live near a crosswalk that’s very difficult for pedestrians— and continues to be, even after a traffic light was added several years ago. At certain times of the day, many cars use my local street to reach much larger nearby major avenues, turning left (lots of cars) and right (some cars) from the cross street. When all of us — cars and pedestrians— have the green light, the long line of cars turning left don’t pause for the pedestrians crossing the street. This often leaves pedestrians stranded in the middle of the street that they’re crossing when the light turns red.  It’s not safe for pedestrians. [/quote]

The absolute disregard for pedestrians is so noticeable in DC compared to other places I've lived. When I first moved here I lived near 14th and U. There was cross walk between T and U streets on 14th. If you tried to use that crosswalk people would actively try to run you over -- I saw people accelerate when they say pedestrians enter the crosswalk like they were trying to scare the peds back onto the sidewalk. I basically only used it when there was no traffic.

I can't count the number of times I've been yelled at by drivers in this city for using a cross-walk with a walk signal and the right of way. Recently I was walking my 6 yr old daughter home from school and crossing a street where we had a clear walk signal and a cross walk. A driver turning left (at a high rate of speed) nearly hit us but I thankfully was watching for just this sort of thing and grabbed my DD and jumped us back. I didn't even say anything as I was just making sure we were both okay and catching my breath. The driver then slammed on their breaks rolled down their window and called me a string of expletives out the window before screeching off. This happened at 3:30pm on a Tuesday. And I've had similar experiences before.

I am not a cyclist and don't really care about bike infrastructure. But I sometimes appreciate the bike lanes when they create a buffer between the sidewalk and traffic. Occasionally bicyclists can do scary things too but it's such a tiny fraction compared to the people who drive around this city like they are playing Grand Theft Auto. It's a combination of a very car-centric culture plus a lot of angry and resentful people. At this point I also think a lot of these people are high.

I can't wait to move out of this city and area as soon as my spouse finishes up their tour in their current job. There is something wrong with people here.[/quote]

I agree. At least one thing that’s “wrong with people here” is the large number of transplants who moved in over the last 20 years or so, who treat the city more like a playground than a long term home.  They really don’t care. [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics