Improving Pedestrian Safety a Key Concern at the White Flint Complex

(Rockville, MD) — The Montgomery County Department of Transportation (DOT) continues to work with the appropriate NRC offices to develop solutions to the vehicle/pedestrian interface issues around the NRC's White Flint Complex (WFC). The most immediate priority is to avoid any recurrences of the recent "interfaces" between pedestrians and motorized vehicles.

"We can't continue to have NRC employees mowed down outside of our building," said an NRC spokesman, speaking on condition of anonymity. "It really tarnishes your "Best Place to Work" award when downsizing takes the form of hit-and-run accidents."

Efforts already underway, and slated for completion sometime in November 2010, include:

• Installing a new crosswalk on Marinelli Road about 100 feet east of the existing crosswalk near the old NRC driveway entrance. This will move pedestrian traffic out of the sight of the Keystone Kops, entrusted to protect, bully and assault the Federal employees of the agency, who grew tired of seeing employees mowed down by careless bus drivers and texting automobile drivers. As it is required by Maryland law to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks, it remains to be seen if any drivers actually pay attention to this crosswalk, since they seldom paid attention to the old one.
  
  
• Installing temporary barriers along the south side of Marinelli Road to discourage jaywalking during the period in which the temporary entrance to One White Flint North (OWFN) is located on Marinelli Road. These barriers will ensure that, in the event of an emergency, the agency's 4000 employees will have little room to run, creating even more panic chaos and injuries as they try to escape while OWFN and Two White Flint North (TWFN) are potentially engulfed in flames.

"We believe that we're doing right by our employees," continued the NRC spokesman, speaking on condition of anonymity. "We want to show employees that 'care' and 'car' can be used in the same sentence, and that's not a bad thing."