Thursday, June 04, 2015

Progress on new Wisconsin Avenue crosswalk in Bethesda (Photos)

One of the dangerous pedestrian crossings in downtown Bethesda that is being addressed is the one that crosses MD 355 at 6900 Wisconsin Avenue. Among the foot traffic drivers here are the popular Trader Joe's, as well as the US Post Office across the street.

Work has been concentrated on the island portion of the crossing recently, in the middle of the street.

This spot has been an embarrassment for some years now, due not only to the dangerous crossing, but also to the failure to ensure functional access for the disabled to the new post office. Which doesn't have drive-up drop boxes, either.


13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great. Was there trying to cross a few afternoons ago with my 2 year old daughter, and had numerous cars just whiz past me, even when I put my hand out or pointed at the crosswalk sign to make it clear I wanted to cross. An actual traffic light should solve that. I'd say this is currently the most dangerous crosswalk in Bethesda.

Next up would be the two new mid-instersection crosswalks on Bradley Blvd between Wisconsin and Arlington Road (you've reported on these recently). They allow cars to park right up to the crosswalk, making it impossible for drivers to see if a pedestrian is waiting to cross.

Anonymous said...

1:13PM Yeah, drivers can't see the pedestrians and pedestrians can't see around the parked cars before stepping into traffic. Nightmare scenario just waiting to happen on Bradley.

Anonymous said...

Robert - Commenting again regarding the crosswalk at Woodmont & Fairmont. Driving northbound, there is the exact same issue --cars allowed to park up to the crosswalk, which means drivers can't see pedestrians. It's absolutely ridiculous. Emailed DOT and they replied saying my inquiry was being forwarded to the traffic division. No reply from the traffic division yet.

Anonymous said...

Apparently parking revenue is more important to the county than pedestrian and driver safety.

Anonymous said...

...the parking isn't metered....

Anonymous said...

I'm glad they are doing something. But generally a crosswalk across what 6 lanes of traffic is generally a bad idea. Yes, drivers should yield, but it's incredibly wide and there are a lot of cars and it's just a dangerous idea.

Anonymous said...

Is this a regular stop light for the intersection?
Or some new non standardized light warning thing?

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

Yay!!!! They could even keep it on green for Wisconsin most of the time and just button press for pedestrians and sensor for cars. So much better than previous talks of a specialized signal for crossers.

Anonymous said...

Careful that BM link might get deleted

Anonymous said...

BM is an apt, but crude, description.

Anonymous said...

Dyer should change his URL to BethesdaNag.com .

Anonymous said...

well that was called for.