Upcounty Pedestrian Problems to be Tackled by ACT Forum

Press release issued January 2, 2013

A public forum on pedestrian issues will kick off the Action Committee for Transit's new series of upcounty forums. The event will be held Saturday, Jan. 26, at 2:00 pm at the Germantown public library, 19840 Century Boulevard.

The forum comes as recent events have highlighted the difficulty and danger of getting places on foot in northern Montgomery County. Christina Morris-Ward, a high school student, died crossing Germantown Road on her way to school on Oct. 31, and Yessenia Martinez Rivas, a single parent, was killed crossing Muddy Branch Road on Nov. 5. There is also the refusal of the county Dept. of Transportation to mark a crosswalk that children use on their way to Clarksburg Elementary School.

"These two deaths, within one week, are a sign that we must change our transportation culture," commented ACT's upcounty coordinator Miriam Schoenbaum. "We need to stop acting as though the convenience of drivers were more important than the lives of pedestrians."

Barbara McCann, founder of the National Complete Streets Coalition, will be the guest speaker at the event. In addition, Ed Rothblum, vice president of the Gateway Commons Homeowners Association, will report on the crosswalk at Clarksburg Elementary and Frances Heilig will report on Muddy Branch Road.