What Part of "Stop" Do Drivers Not Get?

Photo by Bill Adler

The Second District Police have been getting lots of reports by neighbors of drivers blowing through stop signs and red lights and failing to yield to pedestrians. Here’s a sampling of the most recent observations:

Metro Bus 3919 just ran the stop sign at Yuma and 43rdNW without even slowing down. Why can't someone monitor this or at least report to Metro? This is a pedestrian avenue and we're lucky someone wasn't run over.

It would be great to have some enforcement of the crosswalk on Wisconsin at Ingomar. Pedestrians going to or coming from the Metro take their lives in their hands as cars refuse to even slow down even when they can see they will need to stop at red lights at Jenifer or Harrison.

I've changed my driving pattern when heading north since the stop signs were put on Tunlaw at Benton (where some people actually take turns at the 4-way stop), so I don't have the "pleasure" of trying to get out of Manor onto 37th as often. But just yesterday, I was heading south and sat through 10 cars, all of which had either totally "paused" or not stopped at all at that intersection.

A heads up that while I was out walking my dog this morning I saw an officer on a motorcycle come out from behind the bus stop and ticket someone who blew through the Benton/Tunlaw stop sign. Personally, I'm very grateful to see this kind of enforcement since I feel like I'm in the old-school game "Frogger" everytime I try and cross there!

This morning I witnessed what was nearly a fatal accident at this crossing [Western Avenue at Livingston]: a grandmother and her granddaughter crossing Western north to south. Several drivers went west-east through the crosswalk while the females had already just started crossing, but the worst offender drove through the crosswalk when the two of them were already over halfway across! I was so shocked at this that I warned the lady to be really careful each time she crosses. I myself have stood and waited at this crosswalk several times for motorists to slow down, but they don't. Pedestrians here cannot really see drivers coming up from Wisconsin, until they're almost upon them, and when drivers are going over the 25 mph limit it's incredibly dangerous. Likewise, drivers coming up from Wisconsin aren't able to see the crosswalk. I am no longer willing to cross here and put myself at risk with drivers already going past the speed limit who cannot see the crosswalk until it's too late. I don't know what needs to be done (a flashing warning light as one drives west east, before the crest of the hill? "Ped Xing" on the pavement? Better signage? Move the crosswalk?), but someone needs to work on this dangerous crossing. Please remember also that children will be crossing here to get to the Chevy Chase Playground.