Taking Steps to a Pedestrian-Friendly D.C.

First, engineering: The city is setting up speed bumps and rumble strips to reduce speed. In addition, pedestrian countdown signals have been installed at 1,300 intersections -- more than in any other U.S. city. Officials plan to install countdown signals at 200 more intersections this year.

The second prong is education, most visibly the annual month-long Street Smart publicity campaign, which aims to increase safety awareness among pedestrians, drivers and bicyclists through radio spots and posters on buses and bus shelters.

All Street Smart materials are printed in both English and Spanish.

Hispanics, Branyan said, are "overrepresented" among pedestrians hit by cars because they make up a large percentage of people who regularly walk or take public transit.

"It's simple exposure. Large numbers of Hispanics take buses," he said. "They're the ones walking, they're the ones crossing the streets. They're not in the cars."

Two years ago, the city launched Street Smart for Kids, which uses volunteers from the Washington Area Bicyclist Association to train schoolchildren in pedestrian and bicycle safety. Part of the training is done at intersections and sidewalks near schools, Branyan said.

Enforcement is the third prong, including "targeted crosswalk operations" such as the recent one on Bladensburg Road. "This is a sweet spot," Branyan said, because it has "a lot of people crossing the street, four lanes, people speeding. It's a place that really deserves a lot of attention."

During the operation, Branyan watched from the sidewalk as Anderson and Garrett stepped into the crosswalk. Some model drivers stopped about 20 feet from the walk and waited for the women to cross.

Others were not so exemplary. One driver slowed but drove through the crosswalk in front of the two women, waving to them as if in apology. A driver in a white minivan stopped right in the crosswalk, smiled flirtatiously at the women, then drove off.

"It's the American way. . . . It's 'me first.' People aren't courteous anymore," Anderson said.

But some drivers might argue it's not a matter of courtesy: They fear that they might contribute to an accident if they stop to let a walker cross the street and a speeding car in another lane does not.

"That's a very good concern," Branyan said, but he noted that "it's against the law to pass a car stopped at a pedestrian crossing." His advice is to "stop farther back, 20 to 30 feet from the crosswalk. That allows pedestrians to see if another approaching car is not going to stop."

Many drivers who failed to yield to the two undercover police officers were looking in their rearview mirrors, apparently judging whether or not they'd be struck from behind if they stopped.

But even if jamming on your brakes looks dicey, Branyan said, it's the right thing to do.

"I would rather have a car run into your car . . . than have a pedestrian be hit," he said. "Pedestrians don't have steel cages or airbags."