I'm so glad we're talking about this! When the pandemic started, my partner
and I began walking every day, and we would cross Piney Branch at that
intersection to walk down to Sligo Creek. Once the traffic picked up again, it
was ridiculous negotiating traffic just to walk across what is essentially a
two-lane road. It was even less safe after dark, and I have seen walkers and
joggers come very close to being hit. While I am glad that there is something
there to make walking safer, I agree that a stop sign is not a good solution.
I would prefer something like a flashing crosswalk for pedestrians, such as the
one near my father's house in Santa Cruz. Pedestrians can hit a button, like
you would at any big intersection, and then the crosswalk lights up and flashes
(there may also be another blinking yellow light at the side of the road - I
can't remember). There is signage telling cars to stop for pedestrians. I
wonder if we can ask the county about that. Stop sign, roundabouts, and stop
lights are not the only possible solutions.
My question is who do we talk to?
Anne
On Saturday, October 16, 2021, 09:17:23 AM EDT, Marissa Haynie
<marissa.haynie@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
A friend on Ritchie posted this on one of the (many) discussions about the stop
sign in the Takoma Park Facebook group:
———As a resident of Ritchie Ave and member of our civic association, I wanted
to clarify a few things. We have long advocated for additional safety measures
at Ritchie and Piney Branch. There have been several reported crashes, more
unreported, and many, many more near misses. The traffic control measures in
Sligo Hills years ago pushed more and more traffic onto Ritchie. Piney Branch
is a state highway so the City had nothing to do with the stop sign or lack of
stoplight. We have long requested a stoplight and SHA almost gave us one last
year but then the pandemic hit. We were told there are not enough funds for a
light so they gave us a stop sign. We're hoping this is just a first step and
SHA will wake up and see that this is not tenable.
Feel free to reach out to SHA directly as they need to hear from us!
mailto:SHAD3TrafficTeam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx——-
On Fri, Oct 15, 2021 at 8:42 PM lrsapin <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Agreed on a light. Definitely needed something at that intersection but the
back up on Piney Branch from the stop sign is absurd.
Sent from the all new AOL app for iOS
On Friday, October 15, 2021, 7:49 PM, Sebastian Barnes <sebas.barnes@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
I'm shocked that we aren't seeing roundabouts installed in all of these problem
intersections. The science has been in for a long time that they are safer than
both stop signs and traffic lights - https://www.iihs.org/topics/roundabouts
The only issue is that they have a much steeper cost than simple sinking some
sign poles in the ground but they can save lives without causing the massive
traffic backup and rerouting issues that we now face.
On Fri, Oct 15, 2021 at 7:30 PM Lois Weinberg <lnw1225@xxxxxxx> wrote:
The kind of light that’s triggered by a car on Ritchie or by a signal-button
like the ones on Ray or Takoma and other streets.
Lois Weinberg Sent from my iPhone
On Oct 15, 2021, at 7:25 PM, Melissa McNulty <mel.mcnulty@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Ray Drive has also gained a lot of traffic from people trying to get around the
jam. The county appears to be doing a traffic assessment on Ray right now as a
result. I do see the need to get people to stop at Piney Branch and Ritchie. It
was almost impossible to walk across Piney Branch or take a left off Ritchie
before, but it needs to be a light. The current plan is definitely not working
efficiently.
Melissa (on Ray)
On Fri, Oct 15, 2021, 7:11 PM Angela Greenfield <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Apart from creating a congestion on Piney, I believe people are cutting
through the neighborhood to avoid the stop sign. Particularly at the end of
school.. So they are making the neighborhood dangerous for pedestrians as a
result. Takoma Avenue has become a thoroughfare as a result of this stop sign.
Angela Greenfield Takoma Avenue
On Oct 15, 2021, at 6:24 PM, Tatjana Bajrami <tbajrami@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I’m not saying that I’m sure, as I was not representing seller/ buyers in the
transactions of the resent sales of the 2 new construction houses, that sold
over 1 mill on the west side of the street, just at that intersection, but i
would not be surprised if this stop sign is there because of that. It happened
shortly after those sales. I have seen this before. This is just a thought
again, not a fact. Best,Tatjana on Margaret
Tatjana Bajrami
REALTOR®
Cell: 202.468.1439Office: 202.364.1300
Email: tbajrami@xxxxxxxxxxx
Long and Foster Real Estate Inc.
Chevy Chase/Uptown Sales4400 Jenifer Street NW
Washington DC, 20015
Sent from my iPhone
On Oct 15, 2021, at 6:03 PM, Alison RAPHAEL <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I agree!Alison/Albany
On Friday, October 15, 2021, 05:49:38 PM EDT, Henry Allen
<hsallen4@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
There’s a new stop sign at the corner of Piney Branch and Ritchie. It is
causing massive traffic jams. One rush hour the jam was all the way back
through the light at Piney Branch and Philadelphia, and then up the hill toward
Eastern, crawling, idling and emitting.
I’ve been negotiating that intersection from every direction for 44 years.
It demands alertness but I’ve never seen the need for a stop sign.
Now, at times of traffic density, I can’t travel up Piney Branch at all. The
only benefit is to people driving on the very, very lightly travelled Ritchie
Ave. Many people are stuck on Piney Branch for the benefit of few people on
Ritchie.
The sign should be removed.
Henry Allen
New York Ave.
