"It's a safer pedestrian environment. We're not developing this in a
cornfield; we're doing this in a well-established area, so the challenge is
greater," Foulger said of the project, which includes restoring the art
deco Silver Spring Theatre as the new home of the American Film Institute.

Maryland Del. William A. Bronrott (D-Montgomery), one of the region's most
vocal smart-growth advocates, said success in reviving town centers such as
Silver Spring and Bethesda will hinge on how well officials invest in
pedestrian safety to "prevent a lethal mix of people, cars and trucks."

Last year, the Maryland General Assembly lifted a $2 million cap on
sidewalk construction, and several legislators pushed for increased funding
last session.

While officials were able to demolish buildings to rebuild sections of
Silver Spring, Wheaton is a largely residential cluster of villages barely
accessible without a car.

"How do you build these safety features into Wheaton, an established
community?" Duncan asked.

Wheaton residents were so alarmed by increasing accidents along a triangle
of six-lane state-run thoroughfares--Georgia Avenue, Veirs Mill Road and
University Boulevard--that they organized a group five years ago to focus
on traffic safety.

After pleas were rejected for a traffic signal at Reedie Drive and
University Boulevard, the Wheaton Citizen's Coalition flooded state highway
officials with letters.

"The next thing I knew, they were putting this light up," said Marian
Fryer, the group's president and a longtime Wheaton resident.

Fryer said until a decade ago, she never feared crossing roads that slice
through the area.

"You can just see that our community has changed a lot, and it's not safe
to walk," she said. "You never know when something is going to hit you."

About 10 p.m. a week ago Saturday, Hill and Galloway crossed eastbound
Veirs Mill Road and stepped onto a grassy median at Centerhill Road. They
stepped off the median, into the path of a 1999 Toyota Camry, police said.

"I just remember . . . waking up in a helicopter. I know I couldn't feel my
legs. They said I was unconscious, but I don't remember screaming," said
Galloway, still badly scraped and bruised from the shards of glass that
flew across his body. Hill remained hospitalized in serious condition last
night.

Investigators have not fixed the cause of the accident, but have ruled out
alcohol and speed.

"He's so sore, you can't touch him," said Galloway's mother, Miriam, who
shuttled him between medical specialists last week. "I'm very blessed and
grateful. It could have been so much worse.

"I'm just so thankful to God."

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