A18 EZ RE THEWASHINGTONPOST.MONDAY,MARCH 7 , 2022
city’seight wardssigned apeti-
tion lastmonthurgingthe D.C.
Council expediteroadimprove-
mentsfor pedestrians,including
raised crosswalks, expanded
schoolzonesand more traffic
enforcement.
More than40 percentofthose
killedinthe citysince 2014 were
between the ages of 20 and 40,
and at leastfour victimswere
younger than10, including the
twohigh-profile caseslastyear in
Brooklandand BrightwoodPark.
In CongressHeights,the city
recentlyinstalledtwo speedcam-
eras alongWheeler Road,where
twochildren, ages 6and 8, were
struckon the waytoschoolin
October and a9-year-old was
seriouslyinjuredinDecember.
Newflexible posts forman arc
aroundsomestreetcorners to
encouragedrivers to slowdown.
At the cornerof Wheeler Road
and Mississippi Avenue,some
already have beendamaged.
Drivers continueto have little
regardfor pedestrians,said Nia
Jacobs,acrossing guardat the
busyintersection usedby stu-
dentsfromfournearby schools.
“I never knewand Inever paid
attentiontohow these cars
speed,and [how]theydon’t care
aboutpeople,becauseIdrive,”
Jacobs said.
Park ViewresidentVannya Ra-
mos said her familyis stillwait-
ing for answersabout her broth-
er’s deathlastyear.Armandocreate opportunitiesfor speeding
and makefor unsafe crossings.In
aquarter-mile stretch of Minne-
sota Avenue SE, from Nelson
Placeto Pennsylvania Avenue—
wheretwopeople werekilledin
the pasteight years—there are
no trafficlights.Crosswalksigns
are ignored. Residents have
erected makeshiftsigns that read
“Drivelikeyour kids live here.”
In a2020 resolution, the Advi-
soryNeighborhood Commission
intheareaurgedthecity totackle
excessivespeedingonthe com-
muter routesthattraverse its
residentialneighborhoods:Ala-
bama,Branch,Minnesota, Penn-
sylvaniaand Southernavenues.
It askedfor moreindicators to
alertdrivers about theirspeed,
re-striping of crosswalksand
more speed cameras.
Police said arise in fatalities
stemmingfromimpaireddriving
alongSouthern Avenueprompt-
ed an enforcementstingopera-
tion in December.Officialswith
thecity’sDepartmentof Trans-
portation also have installed
signs and cameras, said Tiffany
Brown,whochairsthe commis-
sion.
“Butwe needmore,” she said.
“All of our majorthoroughfares
are likespeedways.”Speeding,impaired
drivingatfault
Nearly threedozenneighbor-
hood commissioners from theMartínez Ramos,47,was making
UberEats deliveries on his bike
the morningof March 1when he
was struck by ashuttle bus,
becoming pinnedunderneath at
10th Streetand MichiganAvenue
NE.
Martínez Ramos wasina
crosswalk, policesaid, whenthe
drivermadealeftturnandstruck
him. Vannya Ramossaid the driv-
er told policehe didn’t see her
brother. He diedat ahospital,
leaving behindfourchildren. Po-
lice said the collision remains
underinvestigation.
Thefive D.C.policeinvestiga-
tors assigned to fatal crashes
have beenincreasingly busy,au-
thoritiessaid, handling cases
thatcan takeyears to close.
“Thesethingsgetverycom-
plex,”said D.C.police Cmdr.Rob-
ertGlover,who overseesthe de-
partment’s MajorCrash Unit,
whichreviewsvehicletechnology
and forensicsand sometimesre-
constructs crash scenes.
D.C.policemade arrests in
threeof the city’s40traffic-relat-
ed fatalitieslastyear,while inves-
tigationsare openin five cases.
Arrests weremadein eightof the
37 fatalities thatoccurred in
2020, policesaid,while three
casesare unresolved.
In manycases involvingsin-
gle-vehiclecrashes,Gloversaid,
the conclusion is thatthe de-
ceasedpersonwas at fault.
“Westillinvestigate,but
there’s nobodythere to charge,”
Gloversaid.
Thetwo mostcommonfactors
in D.C.traffic fatalities are speed-
ing and impaired driving,police
say. About 20 percent of fatal
crashesinvolveimpaired driving
whileup to 40 percentinvolve
speeding —and some involve
both.In othercases, about 20
percentoffatal crashesare the
result of driver error suchas
distracted driving,Gloversaid.
Trafficcamerarecords show
vehicles often travel well above
the posted speed limit along
Southern AvenueSE, includinga
drivercaughtin June traveling
five timesfaster thanwhat’sal-
lowedin a25-mph zone.
In the12-monthperiodbegin-
ning February2021, multiple
speedviolationswereissuedto
Southern Avenuedrivers travel-
ing at least90mph, includinga
top speedof 127 mph.Overthe
sameperiod,ared-light camera
at PennsylvaniaAvenueSE and
Southern Avenueissued tickets
to drivers traveling up to 116 mph
in the 25-mphzone.By compari-
son, atraffic cameraonConnecti-
cutAvenue NW,inWard 3,
caughtspeedersreachingamaxi-
mumof73mphina25-mphzone.
Glover said somerecentcolli-
sionsinvolvingpedestrianswere
partly the resultofnegligence,
suchas walking whileimpaired,
or walkingoutsideof acrosswalk
or againstthe signal light.Fatali-
ties involving pedestrians are
morelikely to occur at night,he
said.
Cityofficialsattributethe rise
in roaddeaths to anationwide
trend,whichpromptedthe fed-
eral government to launch a
planthis yearto reducespeed-
ing and protectwalkers and
cyclists. Themove comesseven
yearsafter D.C.Mayor Muriel E.
Bowser(D) launchedaVision
Zero strategythataimed to elim-
inateroad deaths in the cityby
2024—agoal D.C.isfurther
from reachingthan whenthe
program began.
AWashington Post poll this
monthshowed 58 percentofcity
residents approveofBowser’s
handling of road-safety issues,
includingefforts to improvesafe-
ty forbicyclists, pedestrians and
motorists.
Citytransportation director
Everett Lott said the target for no
deaths isn’t shifting,citingthe
administration’s investments
and policiesthatinclude lower-
ing speedlimits andincreasing
trafficcameraenforcement and
fines. He saidthe citywillcontin-
ue to retrofit roadways, including
in wards 7and 8, to makethem
saferfor all road users.
Many of thosechanges aim to
increase protectionsfor pedestri-
ansandbicyclists.ThePostfound
thatpedestrians madeup about
40 percentoftraffic-related fatal-
ities since January2014. Last
year,17of40victims were pedes-
trians,while threewerebicy-
clists.
Safety advocates and some
residentsare urgingthe cityto
remakecar-centric streets, incor-
porating the needsof thoseon
foot or ridingbikes and scooters.
Taylor-Clark,who buried her
sonDec. 29, said she wantsthe
citytoadd streetlights or rum-
blestrips—oruse anyother
toolatits disposal —toslow
driversalong Southern Avenue.
She thinks abouther last
Thanksgiving withhim, when
she madehis favorite stuffing
and cheesecake.
“It’sjustgonnataketime to
heal,if ever,” she said. “I knowI’ll
always miss my baby.”community,”Bealesaid.“Running
red lights,running stop signs.”
Transportation experts cite
roadwaydesign and alack of
investmentin safety infrastruc-
ture as contributors to the dis-
parity. Neighborhoodseastofthe
Anacostia Riverhavelaggedfi-
nanciallyin recentdecades as
otherparts of the citysaw infu-
sionsof moneyand people,with
some transformed into more
dense corridorsthatbring slower
speeds. Road and transit im-
provements followed, building
uponapublictransportation sys-
tem builtto focus on Northwest
and the downtowncore.
In Southeast, manyneighbor-
hoodsretain asuburbancharac-
ter,withhomesspacedout and
shoppingcentersbuiltwith large
parking lots.Residents have ac-
cess to fewer transit stations,and
communitiesare splitby busy
commuterroutes suchas D.C.
295, Interstate 295 and the Suit-
land Parkway.
CharlesT. Brown,an adjunct
professor at Rutgers University
and founder of EquitableCities,a
firm focusedon equityinurban
planning,said the data showsa
pattern of inequityfromdecades
of neglectand disinvestmentin
qualityinfrastructure in Black
and Browncommunities.
“It’sstructuralracism,”hesaid.
“Thesecommunities have adis-
proportionate share of high-
speed roadways.Theyhaveinsuf-
ficient lighting for nighttime
travel. They are bifurcated in
service of the suburbancommu-
nitiesand the travelersthatare
commutingto and fromD.C.ona
dailybasis.”
Twohighways thatcrisscross
Southeast neighborhoodshave
amongthe city’s highestroadway
deathtolls in the pasteight years:
Atleast10peoplewerekilledonthe
Suitland Parkwayand ninealong
the I-295and D.C.-295 corridor.‘There’s nothingyoucando’
BarryTaylor,47, was the last
personto die in 2021 on the city’s
streets, struckwhile crossing
Southern Avenuemidblock on a
downhill stretch at NinthStreet
SE. Asedandriverhit him on the
chillyeveningofDec. 14.D.C.
police said the case is under
investigation.
Hismother,Beverly Taylor-
Clark, receivedacall fromher
daughter-in-lawasshe prepared
for bed,thenrushedfromher
Landoverhometo the trauma
centeratGeorge Washington
University Hospital.
“Therewas nothing else they
coulddo,”Taylor-Clark said doc-
tors told her.“Ijustkept hearing
‘there’s nothingyou can do.’”
She had spokentoher son that
morning,asshe did mostdays.
He hadher nametattooedon his
collarbone,and she still called
him her “baby boy.” Taylorsur-
vivedashootingas ateenagerin
the 1990s. Hismom often told
him she wouldhave taken the
bulletfor him.
“And now,acar takes him out,”
she said.
Thesix-mileSouthernAvenue
corridor is long,straight and
sometimessteep. Cars often trav-
el abovethe 30 mphspeedlimit.
Trafficalso moveshurriedlyin
stretches where lanes narrow
fromtwotooneineachdirection,
passingbrick buildings,row-
houses,single-familyhomes, a
Metro station and the District’s
only publichospital.
Southern Avenue had more
deaths than anyother major
arterialroad in D.C.inthe past
eightyears, according to The
Post’s analysis, tallying 18 vic-
tims.It was followedbyNewYork
AvenueNE with12 deaths and
AlabamaAvenueSE with nine.
Ron Thompson,23, atraffic-
safety advocate who grewupin
the Washington Highlands
neighborhoodoffSouthernAv-
enue,saidhe avoided crossing
the roadtoget to the Southern
Avenue Metro station on the
Prince George’sside.
“It’shilly.You go up and down
thatroadandcarsspeed,”hesaid.
“Mymom was always tellingthe
storiesabout how commonand
ubiquitous it felt having someone
be hit by acar in our neighbor-
hood.”
Of seven peoplekilledlast year
in the corridor,two werepedes-
trians.The other victimswerea
driver,apassenger,adirtbike
riderand twomotorcyclists —
with policecitingahigh speedin
somecases.
In the areathatincludesthe
Twining,Dupont Park, Penn
Branch,Fairlawn and Fort Davis
Park communities —spanning
wards7and 8and partly bound-
ed by SouthernAvenue —
people have been killed since
January2014. That’s the highest
number amongD.C.Health’s
“statisticalneighborhoods”dur-
ing thatperiod.
Residents and localelected
leaderssayroadsare not pedes-
trian-friendly,lack well-marked
crosswalksandhavelongstretch-
es withno trafficsignals,whichWashington’s populationbut
nearlyhalf of its road deaths.
AWashington Post analysisof
eightyearsof data shows wards
7and 8, whichare majority-Black
and largely eastofthe Anacostia
River,haveborne the bruntof
trafficfatalitiesand are hometo
the city’sdeadliesttraffic corri-
dor.The rise in deaths comes
seven years afterthe city
launchedamultipronged strat-
egytoreducetraffic-related inju-
ries and deaths —actionsthat
have done little to stem the
bloodshed.
ThePostanalyzedrecordsob-
tainedthroughthe DistrictDe-
partmentof Transportation, D.C.
policeand the Office of the Chief
MedicalExaminerthatinclude
casesinvestigated by D.C.police
and U.S. Park Police. During
thoseeightyears, 2020 and 2021
—when drivingrates werere-
ducedduring the pandemic —
sawthe lowestnumberof report-
ed crashesbut the highestrateof
fatalities. About10 peoplewere
killedfor every5,000 crashes,
whichis doublethe rateof2019.
One personhas diedso far this
year.
TheSouthernAvenue corridor,
whichseparates D.C.fromMary-
land’s Prince George’sCounty,
accounted for nearly1in5traffic
deaths in the citylastyear,The
Post found.Amongthosekilled
weretwopedestrians struckin
the same block —one while
crossing the streetand the other
avictiminahit-and-run —about
eightmonths apart.
Ward 3, whichcontains many
of the city’sWhitestand wealthi-
estneighborhoodsinupper
Northwest, had no trafficdeaths
lastyear.Cases have often gar-
neredmoreattentionin wealthi-
er areas,whereadvocates and
residentsaremorevocalonsocial
media,at vigils and duringgov-
ernmenthearings.
Thespikeisalso occurring
amidan increase in collisions
involving children, whichhas in-
spired newlegislationand
broughtcalls for tougherconse-
quencesfor unsafedrivers.Four-
year-oldZy’aire Joshuawas fatal-
ly struck in Aprilashecrosseda
streetinthe BrightwoodPark
neighborhood,and 5-year-oldAl-
lisonHart diedwhile ridinga
bikeinaBrooklandcrosswalkin
September.Atleastfive other
children were injuredwhile
walkingorridingbikes in recent
months, including three on a
singleroad in Southeast.
Roaddeaths nationwidehave
followedasimilar trajectory,
withabout31,700 fatalities dur-
ing the firstninemonthsof 2021
—a12 percentjumpoverthe
sameperiodin 2020,according
to the NationalHighwayTraffic
Safety Administration. It’s the
largestpercentageincreasein
year-over-yearfatalitiessinceat
least1975, prompting the White
House to embarkon amultibil-
lion-dollar initiative to boost
road safety.
“It’slike, never there’s aday
whereIjustgooutsideand feel
safe,”said AmeenBeale, 38, a
residentof CongressHeightsin
Ward 8, which alsoisgrappling
with ariseincrime.“Itfeels like
bullets or cars, like, pick your day.
If it’s not one thing,it’sthe other.”
Fasterhighways,
slowerinvestment
Four of the five neighborhoods
withthe mostdeaths overthe
pasteight yearsare home to
majority-Blackresidents,accord-
ingtoThePost’sanalysis,whileat
least58percentof victimscity-
wide wereBlack—anumber
that’slikely higherbecauserec-
ords in manycases don’t identify
race or ethnicity.
By contrast,five majority-
Whiteand higher-incomeneigh-
borhoods —Kent/Palisades,
ChevyChase, Barnaby Woods,
Mt. Pleasant and Georgetown —
had no trafficfatalities during
the eight-year period. This analy-
sis usesboundariesestablished
by the D.C.Department of
Health, whichdelineates 51 “sta-
tistical neighborhoods” for re-
searchpurposes.
Wards 7and 8, withapopula-
tion thatisabout 90 percent
Black,combinedfor 19 traffic-re-
lated deaths lastyear as Ward 3
had none.In the pasteight years,
Ward 3recorded seven crash
deaths, whilewards7and 8had
53 and 60, respectively.
In Congress Heights, three
childrenwereinjured while
crossing Wheeler Road SE in
recentmonths.Afewblocksaway
on awalk throughhis Southeast
neighborhood, Bealespotted a
leaningelectric pole withsplin-
teringwood,shattered glassand
twisted metal —wreckagefrom
an apparent crash. Nearby,the
remnants of ared taillight sat
askew nearthe sidewalkwhilea
licenseplate layinthe street.
“Italmostfeels as thoughthere
is acultureofrecklessness from
peoplewho interact with our
TRAFFICFROMA
D.C. tra∞c death toll falls disproportionately on the city’s two poorest wards
BILL O'LEARY/THEWASHINGTONPOST
D.C.policeLt.SeanHill,center,placesasignalongQStreetwhilewalkingwithANCcommissioner
TiffanyBrown,onleft,andotherstoremindmotoristsoftheirspeed.D.C. trafficdeathsbyyear1002030402014 ’15 ’16 ’17’18 ’19’20 ’Vision Zero
launchedTrafficdeaths by age<
10-
20-
30-
40-
50-
60-
70-
80-
90+0 20 40At least44% of thosewho died werebetween
the ageof20and 40.Deaths by victim’smode
of transportationPedestrian
Driver
Motorcyclist
Passenger
Bicyclist
Scooter050100Pedestriandeaths madeup nearly 40% of
traffic-relatedfatalities.Note:15 victimsdo not have releasedages.Source: DistrictDepartmentof Transportation,D.C. police and the
Officeof theChiefMedicalExaminer
DylanMoriarty/THEWASHINGTON POSTAlittle less than half
of all traffic-related
deathshappened in
Wards7and 8.SouthernAvenueis
the deadlieststreet in
D.C., whereatleast 18
deathshave occurred in the
past eight years. Nearly 1in
of 2021trafficdeaths
occurred alongthis corridor.Hispanic
WhiteBlack50% 100%Majorityshareofpopulation
An individual by census tract
traffic deathTraffic deaths in the District“It’s like, neverthere’saday whereIjustgooutsideand feel safe.Itfeelslike bulletsorcars, like, pick your day.If it’snot one thing,it’s the other.”
AmeenBeale,38, aresidentof
CongressHeightsin Ward 8