Old Soldiers’ Home Repairing Fence

One day shy of a year, the fence is being repaired at the Old Soldiers’ Home along Rock Creek Church Rd.

On the evening of July 4th, 2008, a SUV lost control and hit the fence. Until now, it’s been nothing but a pile of scattered brick and bent ironwork.

I noticed the iron fencing is gone. I presume it is being straightened and restored for installation.

But, the stone and brickwork is currently being restored. In talking with the guys from P and P, they had to rebuild everything because the mortor was no longer holding.

From what I saw of their work, it is very good and historically accurate.

I thought it was also a good sign to see P and P doing the work. They have a good reputation in town and generally do good work from what I’ve seen and heard.

Person Struck by Train at Forest Glen Station, Metro Reports

According to a Metro Alert, Metro officials and emergency personnel are responding to the Forest Glen Metrorail station on the Red Line, where a person reportedly has been struck by an eight-car train headed in the direction of Shady Grove Metrorail station. The incident took place at 4:10 p.m.

Trains are single-tracking, or taking turns sharing one track between the Forest Glen and Silver Spring Metrorail stations.

Red Line Riders can expect significant delays along the line, especially in the area of the incident. Delays are expected to be 30 minutes or more.

Fenty: 4 Killed in Deadliest Crash in Metro History; Rescues Still Underway|ABC 7 News

Fenty: 4 Killed in Deadliest Crash in Metro History; Rescues Still Underway|ABC 7 News

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In additions to the link above, the Washington Post has the following:

Two Red Line Metrorail trains collided this evening between the Fort Totten and Takoma stations, killing at least four people and injuring scores of passengers in what authorities called the transit system’s deadliest crash ever. The trains struck with such force that part of one vaulted on top of the other. Read the entire article, including maps and images, here>>

Accident on New Hampshire Avenue

Petworth News has an interesting post on an accident last night caused by a car speeding away form police after it had been pulled over. The pattern sounds similar to other recent auto crashes in the area. Upon impact, the youths fled the scene. I find it particularly interesting that the new medians, which aren’t even complete, contributed to an accident whith oncoming traffic as the fleeing car turned into the wrong lane and, presumably, couldn’t cross over into the correct lane because of the medians.

For photos and more details, go to the Petworth News post here>>

Speed Factor in Traffic Fatality Monday

According to the WUSA9 report on the traffic accident that occurred 3:20 a.m. yesterday morning, a chief factor that may have lead to the death of the driver was the high rate of speed with which the vehicle was traveling. There is also the possibility that the vehicle was stolen.

The driver was apparently attempting to maneuver around a slower-moving vehicle, when he lost control and struck a Pepco pole and a tree in the 1700 block of Connecticut Avenue.

The death of the driver surely helped bring this story to the fore, but this is not a unique or isolated incident. Car thefts are still far more frequent in the City than anyone wants. The result of these joyriding teens ranges from inconvenience, to damaged property, to death as in the case reported here.

I’m sure MPD is just as frustrated as I am with the mix of speed, theft, inexperience, and automobiles. Its costing the city and residents a fortune to police the streets and repair property damage. I’d like to be able to get on a high horse and tell the police how to address this problem, but I can’t think of anything more they can do outside of men and equipment they aren’t going to get in this financial climate.

This Date in History

May 23, 1954: A 68-year-old man and his wife were seriously injured in a 2-car collision at 14th and Taylor Sts., NE, and 11 persons were hurt in another automobile accident.

Rock Creek Church Rd Traffic Getting Attention

I learned today that MPD will be taking enforcement action along Rock Creek Church Road, NW, over the next few weeks.  DDOT is also looking into more long term solutions per direction from the Mayor. Action may include a police cruiser or a speed camera set-up.

As anyone that lives along Rock Creek Church Road can tell you, vehicles frequently travel well over the speed limit and this has caused several accidents due to blind corners and sharp curves. The area between the intersections of 5th Street, NW and Illinois Street are particularly bad.

The light at 5th Street does anything but calm traffic, as yellow means step on it. In fact, I watch people run the light on a daily basis, one driver going so far as to merely lay on the horn to let people know he was coming through.

I’m hopeful that this will lead to some long term results rather than just be a temporary patch to calm neighbors’ outrage.