The intersection of Colesville Road (Rt. 29) and Sligo Creek Parkway presents significant safety risks to pedestrians and people on bicycles.  Due to these concerns, a handful of North Hills neighbors reached out to local officials to seek improvements at the intersection to enhance pedestrian/bicyclist safety.  Unfortunately, the change has been slow moving.  This October, a student on his way home from Silver Spring International Middle School was struck by a vehicle as he crossed Sligo Creek Parkway, requiring him to be transported to the hospital by ambulance. The student was crossing at the crosswalk with the “Walk” signal when he was struck by a car turning right from southbound Rt. 29 onto Sligo Creek Parkway.  The driver of the vehicle left the scene of the collision before police arrived and without leaving her car to ensure the child’s safety.

 We need to be proactive in ensuring a similar incident, or one with more dire consequences, does not occur. We find it imperative that the Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) and Montgomery County Park and Planning take immediate action to protect the safety of students and other pedestrians who use the adjacent Sligo Creek Trail when crossing this complicated intersection. The signers of this petition call on the Maryland SHA to take the following immediate actions:

1.      Complete and report the results of SHA’s traffic study on the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists at this intersection, and implement any corrective actions to mitigate pedestrian safety risks;

2.      Improve traffic signals and signage to alert drivers to look for pedestrians and bicyclists crossing Rt. 29 and Sligo Creek Parkway at each portion of this intersection;

3.      Consider restricting right turns on red across Rt. 29 between 6:30 and 9 AM and 3 and 4:30 PM when students are using Sligo Creek Parkway to go to and from school. 

4.      Consider providing crossing guards at Rt. 29 and Sligo Creek Parkway to enforce crosswalk signals during rush hour

5.      Consider the development of a pedestrian bridge to facilitate traffic flow on Rt. 29 and ensure a long-term solution for pedestrian and bicycle safety along Sligo Creek Trail.

The neighborhoods and communities surrounding the dangerous intersection request a prompt and public response to this petition and look forward to working with public officials to address this situation.