Over the last two weeks we've been called intolerant and rude (not to mention ugly and unable to drive), so it's nice to learn that maybe we're not totally awful -- we're actually great for cyclists and pedestrians. more ›

There's never-ending tension in D.C. between drivers, pedestrian, and cyclists. They each have their own rights, and they're always complaining about the others not behaving. In some cases, however, they're wrong. more ›

Emergency personnel responded to the scene of an accident at the intersection of Kenilworth Avenue and Quarles Street NE this afternoon, where four pedestrians were struck by a vehicle. more ›

Today, members of the D.C. Council introduced two measures which would put additional emphasis on pedestrian safety, including a law which would reduce the speed limit in residential areas to 15 miles per hour. more ›

Police are currently investigating a collision near Pershing Park which left a woman severely injured last night. more ›

Huzzah! Work to rehabilitate Columbus Plaza, which has been called "the city's most embarrassingly neglected public space," is scheduled to finally begin on Monday. more ›

While taking a walk around the city with some out-of-town guests this weekend, yours truly received disbelieving looks after dropping the knowledge that District police can occasionally be spotted handing out tickets for jaywalking. more ›

So often, we think of bicycle accidents in terms of cars and bikes colliding -- but it's important to remember that pedestrians and cyclists can also clash, with tragic results. For example: WUSA9 reports that a cyclist died this morning after hitting a pedestrian around 7:45 a.m. today. more ›

UPDATE: Everything is all clear now, and 7th Street is back open to traffic and pedestrians. more ›

Last Friday's D.C. Council hearing on pedestrian and bicycle safety was certainly one of the more emotional in recent memory, featuring several stories about cyclists and pedestrians who were killed or severely injured in incidents with vehicles. more ›

Look, Washington Examiner, we know you're bummed out about not actually having crime-fighting superpowers. We would be too! But that's no reason to start wildly promoting the idea that pedestrian accidents are on the rise exclusively because Michelle Obama is encouraging people to fight obesity by walking. more ›

This is just incredibly sad: the Post reports that Quan Chu, a 78-year-old D.C. resident who was hit by a bicyclist in an alley off the 600 block of Massachusetts Avenue NW on November 26, has died as a result of his injuries. Police are still searching for the person riding the bike, who allegedly pedaled away after knocking down both Chu and an elderly woman who was walking alongside him that morning. The woman, who has not been identified, was also hospitalized after the incident. According to police, the cyclist, who was riding a "BMX-style bicycle" and wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt, left the scene around 10 a.m. and headed south through the alley toward I Street NW -- anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact authorities at 202-727-9099 or 1-888-919-2746, or anonymously via 1-866-411-TIPS. more ›

Following a year when it seems, at least to me, that there has been increased reporting on traffic-related accidents - so far the District has had fewer fatalities in 2010 than in 2009. In fact, D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier says that traffic deaths in the District have decreased by 54 percent in the last 2 years. Twelve pedestrians have died so far this year, down from 14 this time last year. more ›

D.C. police are investigating a hit and run incident which occurred around 10 a.m. Friday on the 600 block of Massachusetts Avenue NW. Two elderly pedestrians were walking in an alley on the block when they were hit by a cyclist, who caused them to fall. According to Struck in DC, it is the first such bicycle-pedestrian incident in D.C. since July. The cyclist, described as a Hispanic male with black hair who was reportedly riding a "BMX-style" bike, allegedly did not stop riding -- the pedestrians, both in their 70s, were admitted to a local hospital, the man in critical condition. If you happened to witness or have any information about the incident, police ask that you contact them at (202) 727-9099 or 1-888-919-CRIME. more ›

In 2007, Martha Schoenborn and Sally McGhee were killed after being run over by a Metrobus as they crossed Pennsylvania Avenue NW. Later that year, a Rockville man was killed after a Metrobus struck him while he was in a crosswalk. In October 2009, a woman was exiting a D8 Metrobus when another bus struck her as she attempted to cross the street. more ›

A mother and a young child in a stroller were hit by an SUV at the intersection of Aspen Hill Road and Georgia Avenue in Aspen Hill this morning. The child reportedly has suffered serious, potentially life-threatening injuries. The driver apparently remained on the scene after the accident. Around 10:20 a.m., the two were struck by the SUV, which was traveling north on Georgia Avenue. WUSA more ›

A woman was struck by a vehicle early this morning in Dupont Circle and later died. According to eyewitnesses, the driver who hit the woman fled from the scene. more ›

Mere minutes after posting the news that D.C. is still full of terrible, awful, drivers who get into accidents at an alarming clip, DDOT emailed us inform us that drivers heading eastbound on M Street in Georgetown can now turn left onto Wisconsin Avenue, thanks to a newly installed left-hand turn signal at the intersection. Hmm. Is it too late to revise the report? Based on this news and the number of atrocious drivers that frequent that intersection, those figures we cited earlier are already pretty much outdated. more ›

Our recent post which featured a map of pedestrian accidents in D.C. generated a variety of comments, questioning why such accidents keep happening, who is at fault and how the number of accidents might be diminished. A new study from the New York Department of Transportation may get us closer to such answers. more ›

Last week, we reported on a grisly pedestrian accident on M Street SE. While the Washington media reports on many pedestrian and cyclist accidents, most people don't realize how common they really are in the District. D.C. Fire and EMS reports that there are 8 to 10 pedestrian accidents every day. more ›

Last week, I penned this diatribe against the use of orange flags as a viable method for pedestrian crossing. The footnote to that story is that, sometimes, it just doesn't matter what kind of pedestrian safety measure is installed -- vehicles, sometimes with alarming frequency, strike pedestrians. To wit: ABC7 reports that two pedestrians suffered life-threatening injuries last night after a taxi hit both while they were inside a crosswalk on the National Mall. The collision occurred around 10 p.m. at 14th and Jefferson Streets NW, about one block away from the Washington Monument. But they weren't alone: D.C. Fire and EMS says that, in the last 24 hours alone, pedestrians have been struck by vehicles at 2300 3rd Street NE, the intersection of 7th & P Streets NW and the intersection of 4th Street & New Jersey Avenue NW. more ›

Greater Greater Washington reports that DDOT has at last installed "quick curbs" at one corner of the intersection of 15th and W Streets NW, where a pedestrian was killed in May. The intersection is famously dangerous and confusing for pedestrians and drivers alike, as it also meets Florida Ave. in a jumble of diverging one-way traffic patterns. The "quick curbs" are plastic markers designed to steer traffic farther away from pedestrians. Other work that's been completed at the intersection includes a "Turn on Green Arrow Only" sign to prevent drivers from turning right on red onto W Street. GGW also says DDOT tells them that more quick curbs for the remainder of the intersection are scheduled to be installed, as are signal improvements for pedestrians. more ›

The Examiner's Michael Neibauer came up with an interesting story by talking to MPD officer David Baker. Baker posted a frustrated screed earlier this month on the 2nd District police email list, after yet another person was struck by a car at the intersection of Nebraska and Connecticut Avenues NW. Baker believes that the increase in pedestrian accidents in the area is not only due to drivers not paying attention—the pedestrians themselves are largely to blame, thanks to them being distracted by iPods and cell phones. more ›

All our sympathies go to the SWDCBlogger's roommate who was intentionally struck by a driver while riding late last Friday night on 14th Street SW near Constitution Avenue. Witnesses to the incident picked up the driver's tags, so the hope is that justice will catch up with that automomaniac. Anyone else who was hanging around the Mall after 1 a.m. and saw the incident should get in contact with the blog's author. more ›

The District Department of Transportation is hosting a city-wide public meeting tonight on the final draft of the District Draft Pedestrian Master Plan. If you still haven't had a gander at the plan itself, you can read it here. more ›

The Post digs in to the D.C. Department of Transportation's plans to unveil a new pedestrian strategy today that aims to reduce accidents and injuries in the city's most dangerous intersections and crosswalks. more ›

Last fall we reported that builders in the District would be required to construct covered pedestrian walkways beginning in October. Since then, we've definitely seen a few of the new, safer passages around town, but we've also run into more than a handful of others, such as the one pictured above at 11th and K Streets NW, that still force pedestrians to cross the street to use a proper sidewalk (or, as is often the case, simply put them in harms way when they end up walking alongside a construction fence in a lane of traffic, as is the case in this photo). more ›

The Post's Clarence Williams alerts us to the new ad campaign from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments's Street Smart program, which aims to scare the bejeezus out of drivers and pedestrians in the hopes that we'll all be a lot more careful out on the road. A new study shows that on average more than 80 people die and 2,000 people are injured a year in pedestrian accidents in the Washington region. more ›

The Cleveland Park listserv is teeming with arguments in favor of and against eliminating the reversible traffic lanes on Connecticut Avenue, which many people claim to be unsafe for drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists alike; of course, others (read: commuters) are crying bloody murder at the potential increase in traffic jams during the morning and evening rush hour on one of the cities main arterial roadways. more ›