How Would Gaithersburg Walkers Improve Pedestrian Safety?

With five pedestrian fatalities already occurring in Montgomery County in 2013 and a forum to address the issue in Gaithersburg and Germantown in January, Patch decided to talk with some pedestrians in the Kentlands Shopping center (where walking is encouraged) to find out what they would like to see happen to increase their safety.

• Jennifer Davis, who lives in the Kentlands was able to see both sides of the issue. "I wish it was just law that drivers had to stop anytime there was a pedestrian waiting at a cross walk," Davis said. "However, walkers need to be responsible too - some wear dark clothes at night, other people just start walking without even looking to see if a car is coming."
• Warning devices at crosswalks in the Kentlands seemed to be an issue for Harold Ressing, a Rockville resident who was shopping in the Kentlands. "I've seen other crosswalks with more signs, flashing lights and that reflective tape stuff," he stated. "I bet that would help a lot at night.
• Alice Blake also wondered why crosswalks in different places were so different. "There is a crosswalk in Rockville, near the Strathmore Music Hall, that has these little orange flags that people would wave as they crossed," Blake said. "That might be hard to do everywhere, but its kind of strange that there are no laws about how crosswalks have to be built."