Contact: Esther Bowring, 240-777-6530
Tom Migrock, 240-777-2190
For Immediate Release: August 14, 2001

Duncan Highlights School Crosswalk Repainting Program;
Summertime Pedestrian Safety Initiative Keeps Kids Safe

Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan today lent a hand to a County Department of Public Works and Transportation (DPWT) work crew as they began restriping the crosswalk at Ashburton Elementary School in Bethesda, and highlighted the importance of pedestrian safety as the first day of school nears. Repainting efforts are part of the County’s regular inspection and summertime repair program that ensures school crosswalks are visible and ready for the opening of school.

“Making sure kids are safe is one of our highest priorities,” said Duncan. “As kids return to school, we need to remind drivers that it is their responsibility to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks – not just at schools, but throughout the County. We have got to accept responsibility for one another to make our community safer by slowing down, sharing the road, and taking an extra minute to drive with care and walk with caution.”

In January, the Montgomery County Blue Ribbon Panel on Pedestrian and Traffic Safety issued an interim report that included a recommendation about crosswalk maintenance.

“Our Panel has heard from many concerned citizens about making crosswalks more visible to motorists and pedestrians alike,” said Delegate William A. Bronrott (D-16, Bethesda), chair of the Montgomery County Blue Ribbon Panel on Pedestrian and Traffic Safety. “The Panel views this as a critical first step in creating safe routes to our schools and encouraging more children to walk. We have responded by issuing a preliminary recommendation for the County to survey and restore our school crosswalks in time for the first day of school on September 4. We are grateful for the County's responsiveness to the safety of our children on foot.”

Each year, DPWT inspectors, with input from the school community, evaluate the condition of the County’s 2,000 crosswalks, including 800 school crosswalks, and set up a repainting schedule for those that need repair. School crosswalks are given priority in the summer.

“As children get ready to head back to school, it is a great time for parents or caregivers to remind them to be alert while walking or biking along busy roads," said Maryland Deputy Transportation Secretary Beverley Swaim-Staley. “The Maryland Department of Transportation is proud to be working with Montgomery County, as well as our other counties and Baltimore City, to bring a greater awareness to the many pedestrians and bicyclists that share our roads with automobiles. We all need to look out for each other.”

Crosswalks are repainted with thermoplastic paint that lasts anywhere between three and five years, depending on the amount of traffic. The County restripes about 400 to 450 crosswalks every year.

“As school reopens, everyone is increasingly aware of the importance of student safety,” said Ashburton Elementary School Principal Barbara Haughey. “At Ashburton, we work with our students, parents and the community to reinforce good safety habits. Clearly marked student crosswalks assist all of us in knowing where students cross the street to go to school so that everyone can be a vital part of helping all of our students get to and from school safely each day.”

For more information about the Pedestrian Safety Panel, call Gail Nachman at 301-986-4325 or check the County’s website at www.co.mo.md.us and click on Pedestrian and Traffic Safety.