by Marlene Berlin
There was a gruesome pedestrian crash on Connecticut Avenue at Northampton Street on October 21st. Please see my Letter to the Editor in the Current:
Why was I the only one who knew about the gruesome pedestrian crash at Northampton Street and Connecticut Avenue on Oct. 21? It put a young man in the hospital in serious condition with broken bones and a punctured lung; he is still under heavy sedation. If he had been shot or beat up by muggers, everyone would have known. It would have been in the news. The community would demand action, the police would have been out in force, meetings would be held. But in this situation there was silence.
This silence is shocking… [link_more url=”https://www.foresthillsconnection.com/pedestrian-crashes-need-more-attention/” text=”Read more”][/box]
Forest Hills has plenty of its own marked crosswalks without traffic signals. They also pose a significant risk, especially those leading to bus stops.
What folks do not quite grasp is that the danger from automobile injury of fatality is so much greater than crime in our area, that the silence surrounding the pedestrian crash at Northampton is unconscionable. The good news on this is that Captain Jeffrey Harold promised to put up notices of all pedestrian crashes in our area on the Second District listserv. But this is not enough. The Current should also be publishing such incidents in their weekly Police Report. We also need more effective and proactive traffic enforcement of Connecticut Avenue to control speed and ticket drivers for not stopping for pedestrians in crosswalks. Email Commander Michael Reese with this request. Please add your voice to mine.
And now, the good news…
Yes, finally we are getting a sidewalk on Brandywine. It will be on the north side of the street all the way from 30th Street to the alley right before Connecticut Avenue. And finally the Forest Hills park and playground will be graced by a sidewalk on the southern side. And we can all thank Tom Whitley, our ANC commissioner (3F04) who pushed and pushed for this. It is going in soon. There has already been some clearing away of brush to prepare for construction.
And wait, I am not done. This is for those of us who walk to Tenleytown on Albemarle: The folks on the block between 38th and 39th Streets, under the leadership of Heidi Nalven, have collected the signatures needed to get this dangerous sidewalk gap closed. After Brandywine, DDOT (District Department of Transportation) will be tackling this. That will mean a contiguous sidewalk from 28th Street to Wisconsin Avenue.
Jeremy Rueter says
Very sad about the pedestrian crash.
But great news about the sidewalks!
Christine Demick says
I believe the intersection at Ellicot and Connecticut is one of the most dangerous in our neighborhood. A traffic light with a walk button should be installed. There have been several fatalities there.