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In the recent accidents on Georgia Avenue, both pedestrians were wearing dark clothing, were jaywalking and were killed about 6 a.m., before daylight.

Ronald Resnick, 49, who lived on nearby Ralph Road, was killed Oct. 24 while trying to cross Georgia Avenue north of Hewitt, police said. A car struck Resnick in the middle lane, police said. Then Resnick was hit again by a sport utility vehicle that drove away.

Resnick, who was wearing headphones, was either on his way to the Quik Mart convenience store or was coming back when he was hit, police said.

On Sept. 28, Ayelech Mamo, 45, who lived nearby, was killed while trying to get to the bus stop south of Hewitt, police said. Mamo, an Ethiopian immigrant, had lived in the area just two weeks and was headed to work.

In transportation and planning circles, focusing on pedestrian convenience is the latest trend. New communities, including Kentlands, are designed with narrower streets, sidewalks everywhere and offices and stores within easy walking distance.

But all those efforts can't do much for roads in lower Montgomery, such as Georgia Avenue, which were widened long ago for increasing traffic but where many people still depend on walking and riding buses.

Georgia Avenue at Hewitt, which was expanded to six lanes in the 1960s, can't be redesigned without major renovation or a reduction in traffic patterns, transportation officials said.

An overhead walkway isn't viable because there isn't enough pedestrian traffic in that area, said Emil Wolanin, Montgomery's chief transportation system manager.

And ticketing more cars isn't the best option, police said, because many cars are going only a few miles per hour over the 45 mph limit.

The fliers with warnings and safety tips passed out by police recently have gone largely ignored. So many pedestrians, including Mamo, had jaywalked to the nearby bus stop that a path has been formed on the grassy median.

Officials hope that an additional crosswalk at Georgia and Hewitt avenues, on the other side of the median, will make a difference.

But Cynthia Resnick, whose brother was killed, said she doesn't know whether anything besides concrete barriers can stop people from jaywalking. When her brother moved into a home on Ralph Road a few months ago, she made him promise that he would always use the crosswalk. Ronald Resnick, a janitor, didn't have a car and had to walk or ride the bus.

"He had promised me," said Cynthia Resnick, of Olney. "He said, 'Yeah, yeah, I'll

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