Would you want to walk here? This man doesn’t have much of a choice. Image from Google Street View.

As long-awaited residential and retail development at the Rhode Island Avenue Metro station moves ahead, a petition asks officials not to forget a basic need for area residents: sidewalks.

Although the Rhode Island Station development is now under construction, there are no plans to improve the narrow sidewalks on Rhode Island Avenue, which squeeze pedestrians between a dark wall and six lanes of speeding traffic. The new development also fails to address the aging, cracked stairs leading to the station from the roadway, which are in need of repair.

Following the lead of Life on the Edgewood, the Coalition for Smarter Growth has begun a petition to DDOT Director Gabe Klein and Ward 5 Council member Harry Thomas, Jr., calling on them to ensure the sidewalk is fixed.

Sign the petition now. You don’t have to be a Ward 5 resident to tell leaders that unsafe sidewalks need to be addressed.

The Rhode Island Station development went through the Planned Unit Development process, receiving approval in 2007. The only improvement to Rhode Island Avenue that DDOT required as part of the PUD was “improved crosswalk markings” at the avenue’s intersection with Reed Street. Addressing the artery’s narrow sidewalks was conspicuously absent from DDOT’s priority list at the time.

Although Rhode Island Avenue is a Great Streets project identified by Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, Great Streets does not hold much promise for timely implementation of needed streetscape improvements. Instead, this initiative looks more at the long-term economic redevelopment of the Rhode Island Avenue corridor. These sidewalks have been inadequate for too long. Waiting even longer as part of the Great Streets Initiative is unrealistic.

A pedestrian bridge over the CSX/MARC railroad tracks is currently being designed and built by DDOT. This bridge will be a major step forward, providing access to the Rhode Island Avenue Shopping Center, the Metropolitan Branch Trail and much of Edgewood.

However, the bridge will not provide a more direct route for all trips and is not a substitute for adequate sidewalks. For example, the bridge would be an unrealistic option for pedestrians traveling from Eckington and southern Edgewood to the Metro station or the Rhode Island Place shopping center, home of Giant and Home Depot.

The residents of Edgewood, Eckington, Brookland and Brentwood deserve safe access to the Metro system. The Rhode Island Avenue sidewalks are a major east-west connection across the railroad corridor between Edgewood and Eckington to the west, and Brookland and Brentwood to the east.

“We are giving priority to the folks who live here in the city,” Gabe Klein told Kojo Nnamdi in August. “Number one is peds.” The city needs to back up these words with action, and Rhode Island Avenue provides DDOT an opportunity to have a major impact on the daily lives of area residents. Sign the petition now.

Disclosure: As part of my work at Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, I assist with work along the Metropolitan Branch Trail.