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| An MPD officer cites a driver for failing to yield to a pedestrian in the crosswalk at Veazey Street NW on Wisconsin Avenue. |
Led by Sgt. Terry Thorne of the Traffic Safety and
Specialized Enforcement Branch, Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers continued
their pedestrian safety work last Tuesday, citing almost 20 vehicle operators,
including one bicyclist, for failing to stop and give right of way to
pedestrians in a Tenleytown crosswalk. The two-hour mid-day enforcement
activity took place at Wisconsin Avenue and Veazey Street NW, which was the
site of a recent pedestrian fatality. George
Mina, an employee of the MedStar Georgetown University Hospital pediatric
clinic, was struck while crossing the street in the crosswalk on June 10 and
died from his injuries on June 16.
The unsignalized crosswalk where Mina was struck is located
near Sullivan’s Toy Store, the pediatric clinic where Mina worked, the
Psychiatric Institute of Washington, and various other businesses frequented by
area residents and employees in nearby office buildings. In addition to ticketing
drivers for failing to stop and give right of way to pedestrians in the
crosswalk, the officers also handed out citations to drivers who were holding
cell phones (8 citations), not wearing seatbelts (4), driving at an
unreasonable speed (1), or who committed other violations (7). Two pedestrians also
received citations for illegally crossing the street outside the crosswalk.
The video included below shows Sgt. Thorne crossing
Wisconsin and the driver of a truck failing to yield to him. Under DC Code
50-2201.28 (http://dccode.org/simple/sections/50-2201.28.html),
vehicle operators are required to “stop and remain stopped to allow a
pedestrian to cross the roadway within any marked crosswalk, or unmarked
crosswalk at an intersection, when the pedestrian is upon the lane, or within
one lane approaching the lane, on which the vehicle is traveling or onto which
it is turning.”
The crosswalk on Wisconsin at Veazey can be particularly frightening
for pedestrians because of the speeds at which drivers move along the 30 mph arterial
road, because the crosswalk has no traffic signal to stop drivers, and because
multiple lanes of traffic may block drivers’ views of crossing pedestrians. During the course of the enforcement effort,
at least ten people, including several of Mina’s co-workers, expressed
appreciation for MPD’s efforts and their concern about safety at the crosswalk. The crosswalk may be the site of a future
pedestrian-activated HAWK signal. It is currently undergoing a District Department of Transportation traffic study.
The Veazey crosswalk effort by MPD was one of several taking
place over the last few months. MPD officers also visited locations along 14th
Street NW in the Logan Circle area last Thursday and issued 48 citations to
drivers and pedestrians. Citations
issued to drivers included 13 for failure to stop and give right of way to
pedestrians crossing in the unsignalized marked crosswalk at 14th
and Corcoran NW, four for distracted driving, two for seatbelt violations, and
two for blocking the bike lane. Sixteen
citations were issued to pedestrians for crossing against a “Don’t Walk” signal
or for illegally crossing mid-block. Earlier this spring, MPD officers issued similar
citations to drivers and pedestrians near the 14th Street Trader
Joe’s and at locations along Good Hope Road SE.
Watch video of drivers failing to yield to Sgt. Thorne in the crosswalk on 14th Street NW.
The Veazey crosswalk enforcement action by MPD followed a
week in which three pedestrians died in the District. In addition to Mina, Margaret Ruth Dickie was
struck by a delivery truck turning right onto Calvert Street NW from 37th Street
NW, just off Wisconsin Avenue, on June 11. Dickie, 79, was a resident of nearby
Carillon House in Glover Park. Four days
later, on June 15, James Gary, 73, of Northeast Washington was struck by a streetsweeper
backing up on the 4000 block of Clay Place NE. The section of road was being
repaved at the time. Investigations of
all three fatalities are continuing.
All Walks DC (www.allwalksdc.org),
in coordination with members of ANC 3B and 3F, led a memorial “Vision Zero”
walk from Veazey Street to Calvert Street NW on June 18.
“Vision Zero,” which has been embraced by Mayor Bowser (http://ddot.dc.gov/page/vision-zero-initiative)
and other mayors across the United States, began in Sweden (http://www.visionzeroinitiative.com/en/)
and holds that serious injuries and loss of life from traffic crashes is
unacceptable and the design of our streets must take human fallibility into
account. DC’s Vision Zero objective states: “By the year 2024, Washington, DC will
reach zero fatalities and serious injuries to travelers of our transportation
system, through more effective use of data, education, enforcement, and
engineering.”