Contact: Esther Bowring, 240-777-6530
Lucille Baur, 240-773-5030
For Immediate Release: September 4, 2001

Duncan Shows Off Pedestrian Safety Improvements as
Students Return to School

On the first day of school today, Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan assisted school crossing guards at Sligo Creek Elementary School as they helped students on their walk to school and highlighted the importance of pedestrian and traffic safety with school back in session. Duncan promoted the County’s engineering, enforcement, and education efforts to enhance pedestrian safety, including regular summertime inspection, repair, and repainting of school crosswalks, and stepped up enforcement activities by Montgomery County Police this week at all County schools, with particular emphasis on schools in Silver Spring that have the highest levels of pedestrian and motor vehicle safety concerns.

“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. An aggressive campaign that combines engineering, enforcement, and education is the most effective way of reducing pedestrian and traffic safety injuries and deaths and raising community awareness about this critical concern.”

The County’s Department of Public Works and Transportation (DPWT) re-striped the crosswalks at Sligo Creek Elementary School -- and other schools throughout the County -- as part of their regular maintenance efforts to ensure that crosswalks are visible and ready for the opening of school. 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.

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

“When it comes to the safety of students on foot, our county and state's pact with the people of our community starts at the crosswalk,” said Delegate Bill Bronrott (D-16, Bethesda), chairman of the Montgomery County Blue Ribbon Panel on Pedestrian and Traffic Safety. “A crosswalk should be a safety zone where children can cross the street without it being a death-defying act. With the first day of school here, let's heed the call of our police to drive with extra care and caution, and let's teach our children the basic safe walking skills that will carry them for a long and healthy lifetime.”

Additional sidewalks were installed around Sligo Creek Elementary School last year to improve safety for children walking to school.

County Police of the 3rd District station initiated an aggressive back to school safety campaign during the first week of school. Targeting the ten schools in the Silver Spring area that have the greatest pedestrian and motor vehicle safety concerns, traffic and patrol beat team officers enforced pedestrian and traffic safety laws at the beginning and end of today’s school day. Officers will conduct intensive enforcement and education at each school for an additional day this week.

“It's going to take the vigilance of all our Montgomery County citizens working with our police department to ensure the safety of our students,” said Montgomery County Police Chief Charles A. Moose, Ph.D. “We've increased our education efforts on the importance of pedestrian safety, and we'll be out in increased numbers at all our County schools to enforce the laws protecting our children. For the sake of our young people, please drive with caution, and make sure your children know the safety rules for walking, biking and riding a bus to school.”

Police officers used mobile message signs and mobile speed signs to raise driver and pedestrian awareness; distributed safe walking tips in English and Spanish; and issued traffic citations to aggressive drivers, and red light, traffic device, seat belt/child safety seat, and speeding violators. The Police also distributed a crosswalk/pedestrian safety video to all schools within the Silver Spring area that students will view during the first week of school.

In addition, Montgomery County Police are being deployed at schools throughout the County as part of a month-long enforcement effort designed to coincide with the back to school safety campaign.

To further enhance safety, Montgomery County added crossing guards this year, bringing the total countywide to 162. Other staff dedicated to helping children cross safely on their way to school include six crossing guard supervisors, six Police officers, one Police Sergeant, one Police Corporal, and nearly 7,500 school safety patrols.

Sligo Creek Elementary School is sponsoring a campaign this month to “Keep Every Child Safe” aimed at both kids and parents. Kids will learn about pedestrian safety in the classroom with the assistance of County Police officers and get lessons on bus safety. Parents will get information about traffic safety when dropping off and picking up their children at school.

“Keeping kids safe on their way to and from school is so important that we are devoting the month of September to a special campaign called “Keep Every Child Safe,” said Sligo Creek Elementary Principal Janet L. Lopez. “We will be educating children and their parents about pedestrian safety, bus safety, and traffic safety to get our school year off to a healthy and safe start.”

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 573 child pedestrians were killed in motor vehicle collisions in 1998 and another 23,000 were injured.

The ten schools selected by the 3rd District Police for this week’s targeted enforcement actions are East Silver Spring Elementary School, Galway Elementary School, New Hampshire Estates Elementary School, Sligo Creek Elementary School, Banneker Middle School, Eastern Middle School, Francis Scott Key Middle School, Silver Spring International Middle School, Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, and Blair High School.

For more information about the County’s efforts on pedestrian safety and the Montgomery County Blue Ribbon Panel on Pedestrian and Traffic Safety, 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.