Reply to 4 MCPS HS Students Hit by Car at Bus Stop

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]How is the kid who was hurt doing? Any update?[/quote]

One of them is in critical condition and has head injuries. His family is very upset and says he will have a very long road to recovery.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/It-Breaks-My-Heart-Teen-in-Critical-Condition-After-Students-Hit-Near-Maryland-Bus-Stop-in-Aspen-Hill-497645161.html%3famp=y

[b]Wtf is this county doing picking kids up for school on a major road like Georgia ave?[/b] Is it really that hard to pick them up on a side street, and then make a turn onto another street to exit the neighborhood and back on the Main Street? Two extra minutes is a hardship for MCPS??[/quote]

I agree that there shouldn't be school bus stops on Georgia Avenue. But that's because Georgia Avenue is not safe for pedestrians. That's not MCPS's fault, it's the State Highway Administration's. And everybody has known for years that Georgia Avenue is not safe for pedestrians. When are they going to make it safe? If they had made it safe, this wouldn't have happened.

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I don't understand - lots and lots of people live on and need to use and cross Georgia Avenue on foot.  You do realize these kids were standing on the sidewalk waiting for the bus?  Should we make walking illegal rather than compel people to operate their cars in a safe and legal manner?[/quote]

No, we should compel SHA to redesign the road so that people who live on and need to use and cross Georgia on foot can do so safely.

Today the Montgomery County Council asked SHA to do what SHA should have done YEARS ago: fix state highways in the county so that they're safe for everybody.

https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/MDMONTGOMERY/2018/10/16/file_attachments/1090175/State%20Highways_Pedestrian%20SafetyLetter10-16-18.pdf

[i]Dear Governor Hogan and Secretary Rahn:

On October 9th a motor vehicle struck four young students approaching a school bus stop on northbound Georgia Avenue (MD 97) in Montgomery County’s Aspen Hill neighborhood.  As of this writing, one of the students has life-threatening injuries.  A police investigation is underway.

We have seen a steady climb in vehicle collisions with pedestrians during the past year.  To date in 2018 we have had 11 pedestrians perish along roadways in Montgomery County, compared to 11 all last year and 8 in 2016.  Of the 11 who died this year, 9 were along State highways.  While we do not have the police report on this incident yet, this section of MD 97 has always been considered hostile to pedestrians and bicyclists.  As with similar incidents during the past couple of years on River Road (MD 190) and Veirs Mill Road (MD 586), we want immediate action to make this section of upper Georgia Avenue safe for all.

While we are grateful for the safety improvements at the River Road and Veirs Mill Road accident sites, we think it took much too long to identify the solutions and implement them.  We want much more immediate safety relief along upper Georgia Avenue, including, but not limited to, reducing the speed limit: 45 mph is much too high for this suburban area.  Furthermore, we expect the State Highway Administration (SHA) to be much more proactive on other State highways to reduce the chance of further severe accidents.

Very soon we will hold a Council session when we expect SHA to present the steps it will take in the short term to address this issue on its highways.  We need a much streamlined (i.e., faster) process at SHA to implement pedestrian safety improvements.  We all espouse the objectives of Vision Zero; now is the time to see those objectives translate into action.

Sincerely,

Nancy Navarro
Council Vice President

Hans Riemer
Council President

Roger Berliner
Councilmember

Marc Elrich
Councilmember

Nancy Floreen
Councilmember

Tom Hucker
Councilmember

Sidney Katz
Councilmember

George Leventhal
Councilmember

Craig Rice
Councilmember[/i]

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