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Drivers, Pedestrians Call for Balance In Traffic Planning
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Many people on their way to and from work are squeezed onto a couple of blocks of Wayne Avenue near the Discovery building, and they don't like to wait at the intersections.
So they don't.
They walk right into crossing guards, whose hands are stretched out, palms up. Some respond to "Wait for the walk light!" or "That's not a crosswalk!"
Others stare ahead, crank up iPods and keep going.
Better Design Needed
This writer, who said he frequently uses the Silver Spring Station and saw what happened last week, makes the case for pedestrians and safety engineering.
Dear Dr. Gridlock:
The center point of the problem is Wayne Avenue and Colesville Road, which is designed entirely for cars. It's huge and makes pedestrians wait an interminable amount of time for three or four cars to clear the intersection.
The added factor is the removal of all pedestrian arteries to go east of the station other than the one on Colesville. There used to be three paths from the station to other destinations, and now there's one, and it's narrower than it used to be.
I support ticketing heedless jaywalkers, but I don't think you can have pedestrian safety without actually designing the traffic signals, sidewalks and other infrastructure to support the safe and timely movement of pedestrians.
Pedestrians should not be asked to bear the entire brunt of this construction. Some sacrifices in traffic flow need to be made so everyone can traverse the area safely.
