Leggett proposes millions for pedestrian safety

Sixteen have died this year on Montgomery streets

Leggett, who had campaigned in 2006 on better pedestrian and traffic safety, proposed seven strategies to make intersections safer, improve traffic lighting, increase police efforts targeting dangerous crosswalks, and more study of traffic patterns and crash reports to make other improvements

The new pedestrian safety initiative would cost $3.7 million in new one-time expenditures and nearly $4.8 million in recurring annual costs, beginning in fiscal 2009. Over the course of six years, the county would spend $32.4 million for pedestrian safety over the current $30 million spent annually on pedestrian safety efforts.

Among the proposals:

*Increase emphasis on pedestrians and bicyclists in the planning process.

*Add a new engineering staff position for the ‘‘Safe Routes to Schools” program.

*Perform a comprehensive assessment of the county’s sidewalks.

*Reassess pedestrian signal timings at 250 locations each year.

*Increase targeted police enforcement operations for pedestrian safety from quarterly to monthly.

‘‘Our challenge is to reassess what we are doing, keep what’s working well and find new and creative ways to significantly expand our pedestrian safety efforts,” Leggett said in a statement. ‘‘I am committed to recreating Montgomery County and making this a truly walkable community.”

Department of Public Works and Transportation spokesman Tom Pogue said some of the new initiatives come from lessons learned from past efforts to improve pedestrian safety.

‘‘This takes a fresh look at the experience we’ve gained,” he said.

Councilwoman Valerie Ervin (D-Dist. 5) of Silver Spring said the effort is needed, particularly near schools and business districts.

‘‘This pedestrian safety initiative will ensure that the county’s most vulnerable roadway users receive as much attention as drivers,” Ervin said.