Speed Limits To Be Reduced On MD-97 To Improve Pedestrian Safety

SILVER SPRING, MD — In an effort to improve pedestrian safety in Montgomery County, Maryland State Highway officials will lower the speed limit on a stretch of Georgia Avenue this week.

Speed limits will be reduced at the following locations along MD-97:

• Between MD-586 (Veirs Mill Road) and Arcola Avenue in Wheaton from 35 to 25 mph
• Between Glenallan Avenue and MD-185 (Connecticut Avenue) in Silver Spring from 45 to 35 mph
• Between MD-185 and Cherry Valley Drive from 50 to 45 mph

The speed limit reductions come nearly five months after the Montgomery County Council met with transportation officials, including MDOT SHA Administrator Greg Slater, to discuss pedestrian and traffic safety. Hours before the Council met with the group in November, at least seven pedestrians were hit by cars in Montgomery County. Six pedestrian-involved collisions took place in a span of three hours a day earlier.

"A priority for our agency is rethinking state roads in urbanized areas to enhance pedestrian safety and access," said Slater in a statement Tuesday. "MDOT SHA is approaching pedestrian safety differently than we have before. We are specifically looking at traffic calming measures in central business districts — narrowing lanes, reducing speeds, and constructing high visible crosswalks."

SEE ALSO: At Least 7 People In County Were Hit By Cars In Under 24 Hours