WASHINGTON — After what can be a white-knuckle commute to work or home, you get out of your car, and find the challenges don’t end. From parking lots where drivers and even pedestrians remain distracted by cellphones, to sidewalks that are blocked by construction, threading your way from your car to your home or office can keep those stress hormones flowing.
That’s one reason why Montgomery County’s been focused on pedestrian safety, and at a recent meeting of two council committees, the obstacles to getting around on area sidewalks generated strong feelings.
Montgomery County Council member Hans Riemer said that in some areas of the county, sidewalks are anything but pedestrian-friendly.
“There’s telephone poles all up and down Sligo Avenue, right in the middle of the sidewalk. That means a wheelchair cannot get around,” Riemer told representatives from the county’s Department of Transportation, offering photos from his cellphone.
Council member Roger Berliner, who represents downtown Bethesda where, at least four major construction projects have pushed pedestrians off sidewalks, said there had to be a limit to the duration of such closures.
“Two weeks, OK. Beyond that, really, not OK!”
Berliner had requested information on how many projects had permits allowing construction projects to close sidewalks for more than two weeks. Emil Wolanin, chief of the division of traffic engineering and operations for the county’s Department of Transportation, said his department had sifted through 2,000 projects and was still looking.
What he could say for sure, Wolanin told the committees, is that some developers simply take sidewalk space without permits.
“If they can get away with it, they will encroach further and further out.”
Wolanin said there’s a need to enforce county regulations so pedestrians aren’t punished.
“I wish we had the ability to make citizen’s arrests,” said council member Nancy Floreen.
Floreen noted how often drivers flout existing laws.
“The number of people on phones, the number of people texting while driving!”
But Floreen didn’t hold back on pedestrians either. Speaking of how pedestrians drift out into crosswalks or walk in parking lots, Floreen said “People don’t look!” She said that’s universal.
“One way or the other, I don’t know who to blame anymore. I used to think I did; now I don’t.”
The council’s transportation and public safety committees were briefed by the Department of Transportation at Thursday’s meetings, where they suggested the need for improved enforcement and road and sidewalk designs.
WTOP’s Kate Ryan contributed to this report. Follow @WTOP on Twitter and WTOP on Facebook.
