Faced with rapidly deteriorating pedestrian safety statistics, Montgomery County in Maryland is getting to work on a new Pedestrian Plan, following closely on the heels of work completed for the county's Bicycle Master Plan.
The Montgomery County Planning Department is launching a multi-year pedestrian planning effort, according to an article by Caitlyn Peetz.
The Pedestrian Master Plan that will result will complement the Bicycle Master Plan approved by the county last year, according to Peetz.
Similar to the process used to generate the Bicycle Master Plan, planners will perform a "comfort analysis" of the county's pedestrian infrastructure, assessing "each street’s pedestrian experience including factors like the street’s speed limit and sidewalk width," according to Peetz. "Then, planners will develop what is expected to be a lengthy list of recommendations to improve roads, from adding crosswalks to installing more lights at intersections."
The plan can come soon enough, according to Peetz, as vehicle collisions involving pedestrians increased by 14 percent so far this as compared to the same time period last year.
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