Update: The Montgomery County Council unanimously approved the Safe Streets Act on Tuesday, a piece of legislation that lawmakers say will mark a significant step in the county’s effort to eliminate traffic deaths.

The bill would give pedestrians more time to cross the street, ban right turns on red lights in town centers and downtown areas, and require a review of road infrastructure any time a person is hit by a car near a school.

So far in 2023, 404 pedestrians and bicyclists have been hit, and another 11 have been killed on county streets and roads.

“And this is not just a problem about road design,” Council President Evan Glass, and the bill’s author, said before the vote. “It’s an example of how systemic inequities have manifested themselves to this day.”

The bill now heads to County Executive Marc Elrich’s desk for final approval.

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Outside Newport Mills Middle School, Montgomery County Council President Evan Glass touted his plan for safer roads near schools and town centers. He talked about an eighth grader who was hit on his bike here last year and suffered serious injuries.

“We have to do everything we can to prevent that from happening again,” Glass said.

Just minutes later, a woman there to support the bill recoiled as she saw a speeding vehicle almost hit a kid in a crosswalk.

“Nobody in Montgomery County should risk their life just to cross the street,” bill co-sponsor Andrew Friedson added.

The county had 541 crashes leading to injury and 48 traffic fatalities last year — 19 pedestrians and cyclists were killed — but officials aim to eliminate all traffic deaths by 2030.

“These are not just statistics and data points,” Glass said. “These are our family members, our neighbors, our classmates, our friends and we have to make our roads safer for them.

“This is personal for so many of us.”

Glass’ new piece of legislation, the Safe Streets Act of 2023, aims to make roads near schools and downtown areas safer.

The bill does four things to improve pedestrian safety:

• Bans right turns at red lights in town centers and downtown areas.
• Adds “leading pedestrian interval” to signaled crosswalks. This gives pedestrians a walk sign anywhere from three to seven seconds to get a head start across an intersection before the traffic light for vehicles turns green. Studies show it makes pedestrians more visible and cuts down on the number of cars hitting pedestrians in the crosswalk. 
• Automatic reviews of infrastructure any time a person is hit by a car near a school.
• It also calls for the county executive to create a plan to add more speed and red light cameras.

The bill is co-sponsored by five other of the council’s 11 members. The plan is similar to legislation introduced by the District of Columbia in recent years.

The county doesn’t have control over some of the area’s biggest roads like Georgia Avenue and Rockville Pike, but Glass says he’s working with the state to exert more control over those types of roads.

“We need our state to step up as well,” Glass said. “We are working with our state partners and many of the advocates and organizations and myself and colleagues have been collaborating with our state to make sure that the State Highway Administration does its part as well.”

Last month, eight students were hit by drivers, says Melissa Regan, co-chair of the PTA Safe Routes to Schools committee.

“We feel that youth are a special population where we need to get it right,” she said. “Speed limits, road design, automated enforcement, crosswalks, sidewalks, and intersections all factor in an important way when students are at their school or taking a route to get there from home.”

This story has been updated to reflect that the Safe Streets Act passed the council.