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Construction hinders pedestrian safety
by Theodore Kim
The Gazette Staff Writer
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July 12, 2000

The rat-tat-tat of a jackhammer splits the air during a recent muggy afternoon in  downtown Silver Spring.  Nearby, workers tear apart a sidewalk with shovels and a backhoe to reach an underground utility line.                 
                                           
Blocks away, mounds of dirt piled high on a vacant lot mark the beginnings of a new        hotel and office building on Georgia Avenue.
                                             
All are snapshots that embody Silver Spring's urban turnaround.                   
                                             
The encroaching construction, however, has begun to disrupt the lives of those on foot.  A fresh wave of downtown construction projects and utility work has closed several sidewalks, forcing pedestrians into the streets.

The dilemma arrives just as county and local officials, spurred on by a recent rash of pedestrian fatalities, have begun a highly visible, countywide effort -- dubbed "Walk Smart, Drive Smart" -- to improve pedestrian safety.

Last year in Montgomery County, 49 people were killed in vehicular collisions involving pedestrians, according to recent statistics by county police.

Nine of those deaths occurred in the triangular region bordered by the Capital Beltway, Georgia Avenue and Prince George's County, the figures revealed.

Moreover, the sidewalk problem could be a harbinger for more serious pedestrian and traffic disruptions in the near future, since Silver Spring's ongoing urban renewal has yet to slip into high gear.

A slew of large-scale commercial projects -- foremost the construction of media firm Discovery Communications' Silver Spring headquarters and the renovation of the downtown Silver Theatre -- are slated to begin within months.

At the corner of Cameron Street and Ramsey Avenue, the site of the new Tastee Diner currently under construction, pedestrians routinely walk on both Cameron and Ramsey, since one of the main sidewalks has been partially closed off.

On some days at the site, a worker with bright orange flags attempts to direct traffic and pedestrians. Other days, pedestrians must fend for themselves in traffic.

"There's no place to go, so you end up walking in the street," said Patricia Burgess of

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