Montgomery County traffic signals and pedestrian beacons are targeting the county’s most dangerous crossings. Four new signals and two beacons have gone in over the past year.
More than half of the county’s serious and fatal crashes, 56%, happen at or near intersections. The county’s transportation department is going after those spots directly.
The newest pedestrian hybrid beacons sit at Old Georgetown Road and Cordell Avenue in Bethesda and at Darnestown Road and Yearling Drive, per a release from the county. The beacons are push button devices. They stop traffic so people can cross safely.
Schools are getting priority
A signal went in this summer at Bel Pre Road and Rippling Brook Drive in Aspen Hill. The intersection sits on a stretch the county has flagged for its high crash rate, close to Argyle Middle School. Two more signals went in near elementary schools in Chevy Chase and Wheaton through the county’s Safe Routes to School program.
Montgomery County traffic signals fill a gap
County Executive Marc Elrich tied the work to a bigger gap in the county’s streets. “There are too few places for people walking, biking, and rolling to safely cross major roadways in our county,” he stated. He called protected crossings “highly effective at reducing injuries and deaths.”
Transportation Department Director Chris Conklin said parents pushed for the Aspen Hill project. “We heard from parents at Rock Creek Forest Elementary that the current road conditions near the school were not safe, and we worked with them to add a traffic signal to a key intersection,” he stated.
The payoff could be substantial. The Federal Highway Administration found pedestrian hybrid beacons cut overall crashes by 29%. Pedestrian specific crashes drop by 55%.
Twenty-six more Montgomery County traffic signals are planned countywide. Six already have construction dates. The rest are still in planning or design. Residents can track every project, completed or planned, on the county’s interactive safety map.
Signal and beacon locations
- Aspen Hill: Bel Pre Road and Rippling Brook Drive, traffic signal
- Bethesda: Old Georgetown Road and Cordell Avenue, pedestrian hybrid beacon
- Chevy Chase: Grubb Road and Colston Drive, traffic signal; Willard Avenue and Shoemake Farm Lane and Willard Avenue and North Park Avenue, beacons under contract
- Darnestown: Darnestown Road and Yearling Drive, pedestrian hybrid beacon
- North Bethesda: Montrose Road and Wilmart Street and Montrose Road and Montrose Village Terrace, beacons under contract
- Silver Spring: Faroe Place and Parkland Drive, traffic signal
- White Oak: Broadbirch Drive at the entrance to Orchard Center, traffic signal
