In the wake of another pedestrian struck, a D.C. police officer has offered a fairly blunt assessment of the often dangerous behavior of those who share the road: Walkers and drivers simply don’t pay attention anymore.
Officer David Baker posted his opinion on the 2nd District newsgroup on Feb. 6, four days after a 64-year-old woman was struck by a car as she crossed the Nebraska Avenue intersection with Connecticut Avenue Northwest. She suffered a fractured pelvis and lacerations to her forehead, police said, while the driver was ticketed for a “peripheral violation” involving a yellow light.
She was the third pedestrian struck at the intersection in a year — the two previous victims died.
Some vehicles do speed through that busy crossing, Baker said, but most average 34 to 37 mph. The speed limit there is 30 mph. As he surveyed the site with his radar gun, Baker said he watched pedestrian after pedestrian stroll by listening to their iPods and talking on their cell phones, crossing against the walk signal and stepping into the crosswalk in anticipation of a walk signal.
“As I have mentioned before, technology is a good thing but it has its faults too,” Baker wrote. “People walking and driving are not aware of their surroundings as much as they should be. I believe that is why there is a spike in pedestrians being struck and folks being robbed. The area is the same; the traffic pattern is the same; but the habits of drivers and pedestrians have changed.”
Two of the 15 pedestrians who died in traffic accidents in 2008 were hit at the Nebraska/Connecticut crossing. Charles Schwartz, 85, was struck and killed near the intersection last October. Gloria Nahid, 64, died there last March.
The D.C. Department of Transportation installed variable message boards at the intersection last fall with warnings such as “Slow Down” and “Watch for Pedestrians,” said Karyn LeBlanc, DDOT spokeswoman. Pedestrians were also told, through new signs, to use the crosswalks, while the crosswalks and pavement markings were “refreshed,” LeBlanc said. More minor changes are to come this spring.
“It’s a dangerous intersection regardless, it seems to me,” said Henry Griffin, an advisory neighborhood commissioner whose district includes a part of the intersection. “I certainly wouldn’t lay it only at the feet of pedestrians who have earphones on or are on their cell phones.”
The ANC, Griffin said, has asked transportation officials to present potential options for shoring up the safety of the intersection.
