Georgetown Still Dangerous for Pedestrians

A new report based upon DDOT data indicates that it is still very dangerous for pedestrians in Georgetown.

The study, by 1 Point 21 Interactive, collects all the data on pedestrian collisions in DC between 2009 and 2015 and charts it to a map. You can see the map above, which shows that the highest concentration of pedestrian crashes (i.e. an automobile or bike collision involving a pedestrian) was in downtown, followed closely by U St. and Columbia Heights.

But Georgetown is plenty dangerous. In that period there were 109 pedestrian crashes in Georgetown and Burleith. That’s a collision approximately every six weeks. That’s way too high.

The report makes several trite recommendations about drivers taking it on themselves to slow down and placing blame on pedestrians. The only truly effective way to prevent collisions (especially deadly collisions) is for cars to slow down. And the only way to truly make cars slow down is to design roads that force cars to slow down. Anything less is an admission by DC that it’s ok with people getting run over.