Actions Needed for Vision Zero

Letter to County Executive and Council, June 15, 2021

We commend Montgomery County for adopting a Vision Zero policy in 2016, with a goal of reducing traffic deaths and serious injuries to zero in Montgomery County by 2030. We also commend the county for updating the county’s Vision Zero plan.

However, policies and plans will not get Montgomery County to zero deaths and serious injuries in 2030. We need immediate, sustained, systemic, county-wide actions.

As we stated at the ghost shoes memorial event on Georgia Avenue on May 23 for Claire Grossmann, Robert Grossmann, Etsegenet Hurissa, and Victor Ramos, these actions must include the following:

$50 million additional per year in the county budget for pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure – not paint or signs – with an emphasis on the County’s equity focus areas. For comparison, the current capital budget for the Montgomery County Department of Transportation’s Sidewalk Program Minor Projects (P506747) is $19,686,000, total, for six years.

A safe crossing at every bus stop in Montgomery County (without removing bus stops) by 2026, starting with the equity focus areas. Bus riders are the group most affected by dangerous walking conditions, and many recent pedestrian deaths have been people walking to or from the bus. Also, Montgomery County cannot reach its transit/climate goals if people cannot safely and comfortably reach transit.

A safe walking/rolling/biking route to every Montgomery County public school by 2026, starting with the equity focus areas. MCPS spends nearly $120 million per year transporting students by school bus. According to the MCPS Boundary Analysis Interim Report, 14% of MCPS students live within walking distance of school but receive school bus service because there is no acceptable walking route to school.

A 6-to-4 road diet on Georgia Avenue (MD97) for the 3.0 miles from the Randolph Road/Georgia Avenue interchange in Glenmont to Bel Pre Road in Aspen Hill, reallocating 1 of the 3 lanes each way from car lanes to dedicated/enforced bus lanes and/or protected bike lanes. Almost 45,000 people live in equity focus areas that abut this stretch of Georgia Avenue.

The Action Committee for Transit looks forward to working with the Executive and Council to make Montgomery County’s transportation system safe for all users, for all modes of transportation, in all communities, and for people of all ages and abilities.

Paul Goldman

Action Committee for Transit