YOU figure it out

On Saturday afternoon Will and I went for lunch and haircuts. On the way back we walked down Fenton St. from Cameron to Sligo Ave. As I have shown before, MDSHA is replacing the curb cuts and signals at the intersection of Fenton and Colesville. While this is a good thing, how it is being done is questionable. To leave the site in this condition over a weekend means that hundreds – if not thousands – of people will put themselves in harm’s way trying to negotiate these obstructions. It is not a question of IF, it is a question of HOW MANY. I stood here for only a few moments and counted dozens. Demolition, excavation, and other activities that close the sidewalk need to be planned to avoid situations like this.

It is raining today, so these corners have now been closed for four days. How many people do you suppose have come this way during that time? Could MDSHA close the intersection to traffic for that long? Of course not. Well, in an urban setting pedestrians are just as important. Here it is plain to see MDSHA’s attitude towards pedestrians. This site basically says "YOU figure it out!" to pedestrians.

Also, the construction project between that intersection and the busy 8630 Fenton STILL forces pedestrians to walk in the street with traffic. People have been walking in the street here for months now. Do we need a series of accidents here to fix this? Is it too much to ask that we take precautions to avoid dangerous situations? We made it home alive, so I guess it’s good enough.