After opening to much fanfare, the Forest Glen bike/ped bridge has turned out to be a mugger's dream.
Since the bridge opened in August, linking walkers to the Forest Glen Metro stop north of the Beltway, there have been three armed robberies, two at gunpoint and one with a knife.
It seems taking the bridge under the beltway, instead of over like the North Bethesda Trail, is the source of the problem.
the section that runs for about one-tenth of a mile under the Beltway is dark, has places where a would-be mugger could lie in wait, and is so noisy from the traffic above that cries for help would be drowned out, police said.
So when I said I'd like them to do this at New Carrollton, I meant the Beltway crossing, not the death-trap aspect. Sadly, Jane Jacobs could have seen this coming (emphasis mine)...
"A well-used city street is apt to be a safe street. A deserted city street is apt to be unsafe. But how does this work, really? And what makes a city street well used or shunned? ... A city street equipped to handle strangers, and to make a safety asset, in itself, out of the presence of strangers, as the streets of successful city neighborhoods always do, must have three main qualities:
"First, there must be a clear demarcation between what is public space and what is private space.
"Second, there must be eyes upon the street, eyes belonging to those we might call the natural proprietors of the street. The buildings on a street equipped to handle strangers and to insure the safety of both residents and strangers, must be oriented to the street. They cannot turn their back or blank sides on it and leave it blind.
"And third, the sidewalk must have users on it fairly continuously, both to add to the number of effective eyes on the street and to induce the people in buildings along the street to watch the sidewalks in sufficient numbers. Nobody enjoys sitting on a stoop or looking out a window at an empty street. ... Large numbers of people entertain themselves, off and on, by watching street activity.
She's talking about streets, but it's applicable to this as well. In an article the next day it was pointed out that the designers of the bridge foresaw the safety problems as well.
county officials recognize that they did not sufficiently heed concerns about pedestrian safety on the bridge.
It seems the problem is a combination of the difficulty of the site and ADA requirements. Still I wonder if they couldn't have lifted the whole thing over the highway. Some solutions for this project were proposed.
Better lighting could be installed within a few weeks, said Timothy Cupples, who supervised the project.
Police and public works officials also are considering adding cameras and call boxes. Residents offered to set up community patrols on the bridge and suggested that the county think about creating a webcast of the bridge
Which might help to get more "eyes upon the street." Also long term solutions were devised for this type of project in the future.
Johnston said county officials also now realize they may need to change their procedures so police and other public safety officials are consulted as early as possible when projects are being designed.
Finally, who are these people fighting off gun wielding thieves? They either have more of something - or less of something - than me. If I tried that, I'd either be killed by the thief, or by my mom when she found out.
Comments