Taking Steps to a Pedestrian-Friendly D.C.

When commutes that involve walking to public transit or bicycling are added in, almost 47 percent of trips to work in the District are fully or partly by foot or bike, city officials said.

Speeding is a major concern, because a vehicle's speed "is the most critical factor" in determining whether a hit pedestrian will live or die, said George Branyan, pedestrian program coordinator for the D.C. Department of Transportation.

"It's almost an exponential growth," he said, noting that a person hit by a vehicle going 40 mph has a 10 percent chance of surviving, but if the vehicle's speed is 25 mph, the pedestrian has an 85 percent chance of making it.

"We're trying to get people to drive the speed limit, so that if a pedestrian does make a mistake, they don't pay with their life," Branyan said.

Under D.C. law, pedestrians crossing the street at an intersection without a signal always have the right of way, and vehicles must stop to let them pass. That is the case whether the crossing area is marked -- with stripes or horizontal lines -- or is unmarked.

Drivers also must stop and yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk even if they are waiting at the edge of the roadway, Branyan said.

Pedestrians have responsibilities, too, including waiting for the walk signal, using crosswalks and not leaving the curb so abruptly that cars cannot stop for them.

A November 2002 study by the D.C. Department of Transportation examining vehicle-pedestrian accidents between 1997 and 1999 found that pedestrians and drivers were nearly equally responsible for the accidents, but that the single largest violation, representing 40 percent of such accidents, involved pedestrians not in designated crosswalks.

It is illegal to cross mid-block if there are traffic lights with marked crosswalks at the nearest intersections. When there are no signals at each end of a block, it is permissible to cross mid-block provided the pedestrian yields the right of way to passing vehicles.

"I wouldn't recommend it, but it is not illegal," Branyan said.

However, if pedestrians disrupt the flow of traffic as they cross mid-block, they can be issued a $20 ticket for obstructing traffic, he said.

Branyan said the city is taking a three-pronged approach to increasing pedestrian safety based on "the three E's."