Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is the kid who was hurt doing? Any update?

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

Wtf is this county doing picking kids up for school on a major road like Georgia ave? 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??

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.

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?

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

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

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is the kid who was hurt doing? Any update?

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

Wtf is this county doing picking kids up for school on a major road like Georgia ave? 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??

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.

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?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:2 Northwest HS kids got hit by a vehicle just after dismissal this afternoon, at Great Seneca Highway and Richter Farm Road. One of them went to the hospital with a head injury and a broken arm. It seems like drivers ought notice the mobs of kids on the sidewalk, realize that it's high school dismissal time, and slow down...

I was at the County Executive candidates’ forum tonight and Ficker blamed those kids for getting hit.

I think that is because that area is notorious for student jaywalkers. That’s the reason they put the fence up there but it still doesn’t contain the problem.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is the kid who was hurt doing? Any update?

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

Wtf is this county doing picking kids up for school on a major road like Georgia ave? 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??

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.

The SHA makes it hard for the county on all its state roads. Even in built up commercial and residential areas, they care about how many cars they can shove through an hour and nothing else. Making the streets comfortable and safe for pedestrians and bicyclists isn't even something they consider as part of their mission.

I think we need new leadership. If the SHA answers to the Maryland Secretary of Transportation who answers to the Governor, then action needs to be demanded from the top, and we need to elect leaders who will take this action.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:2 Northwest HS kids got hit by a vehicle just after dismissal this afternoon, at Great Seneca Highway and Richter Farm Road. One of them went to the hospital with a head injury and a broken arm. It seems like drivers ought notice the mobs of kids on the sidewalk, realize that it's high school dismissal time, and slow down...

I was at the County Executive candidates’ forum tonight and Ficker blamed those kids for getting hit.

What a guy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is the kid who was hurt doing? Any update?

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

Wtf is this county doing picking kids up for school on a major road like Georgia ave? 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??

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.

Anonymous wrote:2 Northwest HS kids got hit by a vehicle just after dismissal this afternoon, at Great Seneca Highway and Richter Farm Road. One of them went to the hospital with a head injury and a broken arm. It seems like drivers ought notice the mobs of kids on the sidewalk, realize that it's high school dismissal time, and slow down...

No - drivers have to stare at their phones while driving!! Have to multitask because ‘I’m special’ and can handle looking at my stupid social media while driving .

Once people start getting lengthy jail terms and fines for this kind of thing it will stop. If you are self centered enough to be staring at your phone while driving you need some prison time.

Anonymous wrote:How is the kid who was hurt doing? Any update?

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

Wtf is this county doing picking kids up for school on a major road like Georgia ave? 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??

Anonymous wrote:2 Northwest HS kids got hit by a vehicle just after dismissal this afternoon, at Great Seneca Highway and Richter Farm Road. One of them went to the hospital with a head injury and a broken arm. It seems like drivers ought notice the mobs of kids on the sidewalk, realize that it's high school dismissal time, and slow down...

Ugh, that's terrible.

Anonymous wrote:2 Northwest HS kids got hit by a vehicle just after dismissal this afternoon, at Great Seneca Highway and Richter Farm Road. One of them went to the hospital with a head injury and a broken arm. It seems like drivers ought notice the mobs of kids on the sidewalk, realize that it's high school dismissal time, and slow down...

I was at the County Executive candidates’ forum tonight and Ficker blamed those kids for getting hit.

Yikes, that's horrible.

How is the kid who was hurt doing? Any update?

2 Northwest HS kids got hit by a vehicle just after dismissal this afternoon, at Great Seneca Highway and Richter Farm Road. One of them went to the hospital with a head injury and a broken arm. It seems like drivers ought notice the mobs of kids on the sidewalk, realize that it's high school dismissal time, and slow down...

Anonymous wrote:I drove this week to the credit union next to where the kids were hit. It was about 9:15am and lots of school buses were out and about and stopped on Georgia -- lights blinking, sign outward, etc. Many cars paused and then proceeded (I did not of course). Several police cars were waiting at the Aspen Hill intersection just ahead and and got *every one* of those a-holes who bypassed the school buses. Such a feeling of satisfaction seeing them stopped and fined!

Good. Keep up the enforcement. 51,000 drivers got automated tickets between fall 2016 and fall 2018.

However, the kids on the sidewalk didn't get hit by a car whose driver passed a stopped school bus. The school bus hadn't even arrived yet. The design of Georgia Avenue is unsafe. The state has to fix it.

Anonymous wrote:I keep wondering why this was not Front-Page news for several days. If this had happened to BCC or Whitman kids I am betting it would be.

#whiteKidsMatter