All comments posted by users on the Greater Greater Washington post "Safe Routes to School benefits kids and the community" http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/16336/safe-routes-to-school-benefits-kids-and-the-community/ en-us http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/16336/safe-routes-to-school-benefits-kids-and-the-community/#comment-156185 The other thing that really helps elementary schools like Vienna ES is the definition of the their boundary area. While its boundary does cross Maple Avenue (Rte 123), all the intersections are signalized with pedestrian push buttons. <p>Contrast that to Freedom Hill ES in Tysons where more than half the student population is inside the Beltway along RTE 7. Students walking from this neighborhood would need to to cross 4 on/off ramps to get anywhere close to the school.</p> <p>This is problematic in much of Fairfax County where the school boundary area are drive solely by student populations, not walking, bicycling or even reasonable bus routes to school.</p> http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/16336/safe-routes-to-school-benefits-kids-and-the-community/#comment-156185 Wed, 03 Oct 2012 21:44:24 EDT http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/16336/safe-routes-to-school-benefits-kids-and-the-community/#comment-156178 @drumz: no such excuse was invoked. Regardless, it is in everyone&#39;s best interest if the traffic situation were made safer. http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/16336/safe-routes-to-school-benefits-kids-and-the-community/#comment-156178 Wed, 03 Oct 2012 18:49:36 EDT http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/16336/safe-routes-to-school-benefits-kids-and-the-community/#comment-156175 I agree, but it also needs to be paid for. And it still doesn&#39;t factor into any excuse for someone losing control over their car, jumping the curb and hitting people. http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/16336/safe-routes-to-school-benefits-kids-and-the-community/#comment-156175 Wed, 03 Oct 2012 18:25:48 EDT http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/16336/safe-routes-to-school-benefits-kids-and-the-community/#comment-156174 @drumz: but it is already there; might as well use it. http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/16336/safe-routes-to-school-benefits-kids-and-the-community/#comment-156174 Wed, 03 Oct 2012 18:19:39 EDT http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/16336/safe-routes-to-school-benefits-kids-and-the-community/#comment-156173 See I think making the streets safer by calming, facilities for all modes Et al. <i>is</i> the best use of resources. And since I think the ICC was/is a waste of resources so I&#39;m not especially sensitive to plight of people who feel as if they have to take the surface roads that were there before because paying a toll is beyond the pale in our war on drivers. http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/16336/safe-routes-to-school-benefits-kids-and-the-community/#comment-156173 Wed, 03 Oct 2012 18:16:28 EDT http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/16336/safe-routes-to-school-benefits-kids-and-the-community/#comment-156170 @AWitC: reducing the speed limit to 25 mph is even more politically impossible. http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/16336/safe-routes-to-school-benefits-kids-and-the-community/#comment-156170 Wed, 03 Oct 2012 17:51:57 EDT http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/16336/safe-routes-to-school-benefits-kids-and-the-community/#comment-156169 @drumz & AwitC: it is all a matter of best use of resources. It would be nice to improve the streetscape, straighten the road, and have police patrols to improve pedestrian safety. But such efforts will take planning, years, and lots of tax dollars. OTOH, the ICC is just sitting there, basically empty. It would be so much easier to change the toll structure -- which, because they increase when the traffic is bad, actually worsens congestion on alternate routes -- than to make such improvements to Randolf Rd. <p>I am surprised nobody has mentioned the $2.56 billion bonds. I guess such costs are politically easier to recover via tolls than the normal way of financing road construction, by increasing the gasoline tax. I hope the lives lost are worth the easy-way politics.<br></p> http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/16336/safe-routes-to-school-benefits-kids-and-the-community/#comment-156169 Wed, 03 Oct 2012 17:50:43 EDT http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/16336/safe-routes-to-school-benefits-kids-and-the-community/#comment-156166 goldfish <p>What if the posted limit on this road were reduced to 25 mph and that were enforced?</p> <p>A. Youd probably get more people taking the ICC, the result you desire, but without loss of revenue</p> <p>B Youd get a safer street for peds even if no drivers switched.</p> http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/16336/safe-routes-to-school-benefits-kids-and-the-community/#comment-156166 Wed, 03 Oct 2012 17:39:11 EDT http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/16336/safe-routes-to-school-benefits-kids-and-the-community/#comment-156164 1. we are not discussing accidents SIMILAR to this one, we are discussing this accident. <p>2. Volume of traffic is not the only attribute of a road that impacts pedestrian safety. Speed also does, and speed is often inversely related to volume. Its quite possible that MORE traffic would have meant slower traffic, and greater ped safety.</p> <p>3. Ped infrastructure also matters. Making the ICC free would mean considerably more $$. If that money comes from funds that could be used to build complete streets, with ped safety features, that could result in a major loss of ped safety, even IF the ICC would have helped with this particular accident (which again, we dont know - for all we know the driver was going around the block)</p> http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/16336/safe-routes-to-school-benefits-kids-and-the-community/#comment-156164 Wed, 03 Oct 2012 17:37:37 EDT http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/16336/safe-routes-to-school-benefits-kids-and-the-community/#comment-156163 So if we have a dangerous road then why not make the road safer? Alternatively, if someone is driving unsafely why should they be allowed to drive until they can prove the can control their vehicle? http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/16336/safe-routes-to-school-benefits-kids-and-the-community/#comment-156163 Wed, 03 Oct 2012 17:37:25 EDT http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/16336/safe-routes-to-school-benefits-kids-and-the-community/#comment-156162 @drumz: the tolls do not absolve the driver of responsibility. But they do contribute to a dangerous situation. <p>@AWitC: As you have pointed out <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/16344/breakfast-links-votes-and-taxes/#comment-156161">elsewhere</a>, taxes and tolls affect use patterns. In fact, in many cases that is their intent. If the ICC had no tolls, accidents similar to this one on Randolf Road would be avoided. Are the tolls are worth it?<br></p> http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/16336/safe-routes-to-school-benefits-kids-and-the-community/#comment-156162 Wed, 03 Oct 2012 17:31:35 EDT http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/16336/safe-routes-to-school-benefits-kids-and-the-community/#comment-156160 goldfish <p>do you know the guy, or where he was headed? Do you think the ICC would mean NO traffic on randolph?</p> <p>otherwise I dont see how you can logically say if the ICC were cheaper they wouldnt have been hit.</p> <p>Do we know if excess speed had anything to do with it?</p> <p>Also looking on google streets, the sidewalk there has like zero protection from the travel lanes. terrible infrastructure.</p> http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/16336/safe-routes-to-school-benefits-kids-and-the-community/#comment-156160 Wed, 03 Oct 2012 17:22:09 EDT http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/16336/safe-routes-to-school-benefits-kids-and-the-community/#comment-156159 Ok I&#39;ll let you know how " the tolls made me do it" defense works out. http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/16336/safe-routes-to-school-benefits-kids-and-the-community/#comment-156159 Wed, 03 Oct 2012 17:18:08 EDT http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/16336/safe-routes-to-school-benefits-kids-and-the-community/#comment-156157 @drumz: it is the tolls. The ICC is a traffic sewer that prohibits pedestrians, and is an alternative to Randolf Road. If that driver that hit the kids was instead on the ICC, the accident would have been avoided. People do not take the ICC because of the expensive tolls. http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/16336/safe-routes-to-school-benefits-kids-and-the-community/#comment-156157 Wed, 03 Oct 2012 17:06:28 EDT http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/16336/safe-routes-to-school-benefits-kids-and-the-community/#comment-156150 It&#39;s even better. The car jumped the curb. Clearly this is those damn teenager&#39;s fault for having the gall to walk to a bus stop. http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/16336/safe-routes-to-school-benefits-kids-and-the-community/#comment-156150 Wed, 03 Oct 2012 16:45:56 EDT http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/16336/safe-routes-to-school-benefits-kids-and-the-community/#comment-156149 Some kids were struck on the way to school. <p>Naturally we should ensure that kids don&#39;t walk to school rather than making sure drivers don&#39;t hit anyone.</p> http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/16336/safe-routes-to-school-benefits-kids-and-the-community/#comment-156149 Wed, 03 Oct 2012 16:45:10 EDT http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/16336/safe-routes-to-school-benefits-kids-and-the-community/#comment-156148 Relevant fact that has been left out of this article: <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/crime-scene/post/two-montgomery-county-teens-struck-by-car-hospitalized-on-walk-to-school-day/2012/10/03/5ea6facc-0d60-11e2-a310-2363842b7057_blog.html?hpid=z6">Two students were struck by a car</a>, walking to school this morning. <p>It is apparent that the bad traffic on Randolf Road would be alleviated if more drivers took the <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.iccproject.com/">intercounty connector</a>, and would avoid such disasters. But they don&#39;t, presumably because of the high tolls that are adjusted even high when the traffic is bad. So the tolling structure cost more than people think -- greater congestion and more accidents, injuries, and deaths on local streets.</p> http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/16336/safe-routes-to-school-benefits-kids-and-the-community/#comment-156148 Wed, 03 Oct 2012 16:41:42 EDT http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/16336/safe-routes-to-school-benefits-kids-and-the-community/#comment-156142 Hear hear. And think of the savings when school buses can be done away with. Now we need to test how dedicated people are when it rains, snows and sleets. http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/16336/safe-routes-to-school-benefits-kids-and-the-community/#comment-156142 Wed, 03 Oct 2012 16:06:23 EDT