This is exactly the type of answer that is needed -- not a crowd baying for blood -- but some real questions of why PW county and VDOT fail at their jobs.

Big picture for a second: the easiest changes we can make are in the suburbs and exurbs where it ins't possible to cross a street or parking lot without using a car. Start changing there -- and we have a chance to make a more walkable society.

by charlie on Oct 17, 2010 1:11 pm • link • report

The photos show how pedestrian unfrienly that area is.

by Fred on Oct 17, 2010 1:25 pm • link • report

The use of the word 'should' is not a promise.

Traffic signals do not magically appear. There is a lot more to the design and construction of a traffic signal than simply erecting strain poles, span wire, and signal heads. There are numerous factors that can cause a delay of any construction project, including installation of a traffic signal.

It is sad that someone had to lose a life at this intersection. Agencies need to be proactive rather than reactive. Some are, some aren't. Even things that may seem reactive may have started proactive, but beaucracies are beaucracies. Maybe processes will change in the future, perhaps not.

by Murn on Oct 17, 2010 1:26 pm • link • report

@Murn - "It is sad that someone had to lose a life at this intersection."

the point, Murn, is that no one had to lose his life at that intersection. and it's more than sad. it's grossly negligent on the part of VDOT.

by AJ on Oct 17, 2010 5:52 pm • link • report

Um, did it occur to anyone that people might want to WALK to the bus stop? It looks like there is just a giant park-and-ride lot in the middle of nowhere with absolutely nothing around it to walk to. A traffic light should be installed here NOW so that it is safe to cross the street to go to McDonald's (or walk from the suburban houses behind the McDonald's to the McDonald's or the bus stop, via the tiny gap in the fence behind the McDonald's and through the McDonald's parking lot - there really ought to be a proper footpath here).

by Andrew on Oct 18, 2010 1:38 am • link • report

sounds like a case for official malfeasance and/or negligence against VDOT by the victims family.

by Redline SOS on Oct 18, 2010 9:25 am • link • report

If people cross here with some regularity, does it count as a "regular pedestrian crossing" under § 46.2-924?

by SJE on Oct 18, 2010 10:33 am • link • report

It seems like it'd be easy enough for city councils or other bodies to ask and/or compel DOT people to come before the board and explain why they should not be thrown in jail for creating/maintaining these malignant road designs.

by Peter Smith on Oct 18, 2010 1:45 pm • link • report

Too many pedestrians ignore traffic signs and negligently walk in streets and cross streets as if they could care less about oncoming traffic or think they won't be struck by a vehicle. All you have to do is drive through downtown Washington DC or Bethesda to experience this. At several of the bike and pedestrian crossings in Montgomery County, I have watched bikers and pedestrians completely ingnore stop signs and other traffic laws and proceed directly into the street with no regard for safety. I have seen bikers ride in the streets and completely disregard the rules of the road and completely disrupt traffic. I am amazed there aren't many more accidents with bikers and pedestrians. I believe the pedestrians and bikers are mostly at fault in these occurrences of vehicular accidents and getting struck by a vehicle. I believe Prince William County is approaching this in the correct manner. Its a fairly simple and straightforward issue. If you are a pedestrian or biker and want to ignore the traffic rules, or think the rules don't apply to you, when you take on a vehicle, your'e the one who will be hurt. Its time to start enforcing the laws against the pedestrians and bikers who are negligent or out to make a point against vehicular traffic. The rules of the road are not very difficult to understand or adhere to.

by RL on Oct 18, 2010 3:41 pm • link • report

RL: actually, the rules are pretty difficult, seeing as how the police often get it wrong. The rules of physics, OTOH, are pretty clear.

by SJE on Oct 18, 2010 3:56 pm • link • report

Its a fairly simple and straightforward issue. If you are a pedestrian or biker and want to ignore the traffic rules, or think the rules don't apply to you, when you take on a vehicle, your'e the one who will be hurt.

Cool. So when I start dropping cinder blocks through the windshield of every car that refuses to grant right-of-way when I'm crossing in a crosswalk, can we chalk that up to "If you are a [driver] and want to ignore the traffic rules, or think the rules don't apply to you, when you take on a [pedestrian], your'e the one who will be hurt."

I mean, after all, 99% of the bullying, assholish behavior I see on the roads is coming from drivers who clearly don't expect any kind of repercussions. Perhaps if there were some kind of check on their behavior, it might improve and people would stop dying so frequently. Clearly the law ain't getting the job done.

by oboe on Oct 18, 2010 4:19 pm • link • report

Yes, it would have been good if VDOT had installed the traffic signal when promised, but to somehow blame them for the man's death is outrageous hyperbole. For one thing, the pedestrian probably bears most or all of the blame. More to the point, installing signals takes time. If a material shortage affected the timeline for construction, then it's impossible to know whether that's VDOT's fault, the contractor's fault, the supplier's fault, or some combination of the three. I am willing to bet that the contract was written with a penalty if the project was delayed, so if it was the contractor's or supplier's fault he had to eat a large penalty for the delay.

It is reasonable to expect that VDOT achieve projects in an efficient manner. It is completely unreasonable to blame them for crashes when a project is delayed by a couple of months.

by Marc on Oct 20, 2010 1:14 pm • link • report