For Immediate Release: Friday, January 17, 2020
Recent pedestrian deaths reinforce urgency of enhanced safety measures to better protect residents
ROCKVILLE, Md., Jan. 17, 2020—The Council will hold a briefing on pedestrian and bicycle safety and the implementation of the County’s Vision Zero plan during its afternoon meeting on Tuesday, January 28 at the Council Office Building in Rockville (100 Md. Ave.). The Council meeting will include representatives from the Maryland State Highway Administration, Montgomery County’s Department of Transportation, the Montgomery County Police Department, Montgomery County Park and Planning, and Montgomery County Public Schools. Vision Zero is a multi-national road traffic safety project that aims to achieve a highway system with no fatalities or serious injuries involving road traffic.
The Council is also planning a Vision Zero town hall meeting on pedestrian and bicycle safety issues on Sunday, February 9 at 2 p.m. in Wheaton to hear directly from residents about the safety issues they are encountering on roadways and sidewalks and in crosswalks located in Montgomery County. In December 2019, Councilmember Evan Glass hosted, and several Councilmembers participated in, a similar meeting at the Council Office Building in Rockville. In addition, Councilmembers continue to advocate for specific pedestrian and bicycle safety improvement projects throughout Montgomery County and have secured speed limit reductions on some state roads. So far in 2020 there have been three pedestrian deaths, and two of these deaths occurred this week on Maryland Route 355 (Rockville Pike).
Council President Sidney Katz issued the following statement on the need to step up pedestrian and bicycle safety measures for all residents.
“First and foremost, our condolences go out to all of the families who have lost loved ones on our sidewalks and roadways in Montgomery County. This month alone we have lost Jose Renan Guillen from Olney, Michael Louis Gamboa from Gaithersburg, and Brett Richard Badin from Rockville to pedestrian collisions. In addition to these deaths, there have been numerous crashes where pedestrians and bicyclists have sustained serious injuries.
“One of the Council’s top priorities is creating safe, walkable communities in our County, and we need to ensure that the needs of pedestrians and bicyclists are addressed. County leaders are committed to continuously reevaluating what we are doing in this area and providing the necessary resources for improvements.
“As a Council, we will continue to work with our residents, advocacy groups and planning, transportation and public safety experts to find new and innovative ways to expand our pedestrian safety measures and revamp and enhance our public education campaigns to truly make our community a safe place to walk, bike and commute using multimodal transportation options.”
More details about the February 9 Vision Zero town hall meeting in Wheaton will be provided as they become available. The Council staff report on the Vision Zero briefing will be available on January 24 on the Council’s web page.
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Release ID: 20-017