Congestion Report Includes Pedestrians - Washington Post

Analysis Shows Worst Intersections

By Katherine Shaver
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, June 11, 2009

In just six hours every morning and afternoon, as commuter traffic courses through downtown Silver Spring, nearly 2,000 people cross the intersection of Colesville Road and East West Highway on foot, making it one of the busiest pedestrian crossings in Montgomery County, a new study says.

For the first time, the county planning department's Highway Mobility Report, which analyzes congestion at 130 intersections across Montgomery, also counted pedestrians, who until recently were often given short shrift in discussions about how to make roads and intersections safer and more efficient.

"We wanted to make sure we were accounting for all different modes of travel," said Dan Hardy, transportation planning supervisor for the county's Department of Park and Planning, which released its 2009 report last week and presented it to the Planning Board on Monday. "We're trying to factor pedestrians into more of the decisions."

Those decisions include what priority the County Council gives to improving certain roads and intersections and where bus stops and sidewalks are located, Hardy said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/10/AR2009061001565.html?wprss=rss_metro/md