On a recent afternoon, I was about to make a right turn onto University Boulevard from Colesville Road in Silver Spring, in front of Montgomery Blair High School, when a group of teenage boys stepped off the curb onto University. They had the walk signal, so I waited.
No sooner had they stepped into the three-lane road than they had to jump back on to the sidewalk as three – yes, three – cars sped past after running a red light on University. What would have happened if those boys had stepped into the road a second or two earlier?
That’s the kind of question that haunts Val Carter, a Bethesda mom who knows the answer too well. Five years ago this November, her son, 12-year-old Luke Carter-Schelp, died after being struck by a car while trying to cross a busy street in Garrett Park. He slipped while crossing Strathmore Avenue and fell into oncoming traffic.
And that’s why the question of pedestrian safety was on her mind when her daughter, Hannah, started school this fall as a freshman at Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda. So Carter posted a message to the school listserv, looking for advice on how her daughter could safely cross busy Democracy Avenue.
Her request clearly struck a nerve. Nearly two dozen parents responded, echoing concerns about kids crossing the road, especially to get to nearby Davis Library, and making suggestions on how to improve the situation.
Some others don’t think this is a big issue. A parent I know doesn’t understand the fuss; he’d grown up in the area and had started crossing Democracy in the second grade without problems.
But here’s the thing: Today’s roads are more congested than ever before. Between talking on the phone and texting, drivers are more distracted than ever before. So are students, with ears plugged by headphones and eyes glued to cell phone screens.
And there sits Walter Johnson High School, Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, and Blair – right next to busy, multi-lane roads in commercial areas that are only growing more congested.
“I don’t think there has ever been a more dangerous time for pedestrians,” Walter Johnson Principal Jennifer Baker said.
She met recently with county and MCPS transportation officials to figure out what can be done to improve pedestrian safety on Democracy. There already are crosswalks and speed cameras designed to slow down drivers. But school officials have seen students cross in four different areas – not always at designated crosswalks.
The transportation and school officials decided that creating another crosswalk could help at a point where students are clearly crossing the road, Baker said. “The timeline is up to the county, but we’ve asked it to be as soon as possible,” she said.
Another idea is to post more signs and a lighted message boards to remind drivers that students are crossing. And Baker said that the school will make sure to do more to educate students about being aware of traffic when crossing streets.
“We will certainly be very vigilant on our part to get the safety word out,” she said.
County transportation officials are certainly aware of problems with pedestrian safety. Since 2007, the county has been implementing its Pedestrian Safety Initiative, which has reduced the number of pedestrian collisions and their severity.
According to the county government website, one of the initiative’s biggest successes has been the Safe Routes to School program in which “engineering improvements bolstered by education and enforcement actions at more than 50 schools have significantly reduced pedestrian collisions.” The number of collisions has dropped about 78 percent since improvements were made.
When it comes to high school students, however, more than engineering improvements may be necessary. Remember, we are talking about teenagers whose very nature inspires feelings of invincibility and impulsiveness that makes them believe they can dash safely through traffic.
Here’s an idea to drive home the safety message: Why not stage a car accident involving pedestrians, much like the mock drunk driving accidents involving that are held at high schools around prom time?
Baker sees some merit in the idea, noting that the message of the mock accidents does seem to resonate with students. “You want to impact kids the right way,” she said. “You also want them thinking about themselves. You’re feeling emotional because it’s a sad thing and because you know it can happen to you.”
Carter is hoping that steps to improve pedestrian safety will help prevent an incident in “a terrain ripe for something unexpected to happen.”
“Hopefully, some good will come of my experience with my tragedy,” she said.
