The city council just postponed a meeting about traffic safety because they didn’t share the policy with the public beforehand, leaving frustrated residents who wanted to talk about speeding issues. They’ll be rescheduling it for October 2, so we can still get our voices heard.
Here are the highlights:
- The city council delayed a review of traffic calming policies due to the traffic policy not being available to the public.
- Residents expressed frustration over the delay, citing concerns about speeding and safety in their neighborhoods.
- There was no specific policy change planned, only a review and open discussion of current policies.
- A proposed change involves lowering the petition signature requirements for traffic calming measures.
- The rescheduled discussion is set for October 2 at City Hall, with options for residents to attend or watch online.
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Council Delays Traffic Safety Discussion
After a summer of resident calls for the city to address neighborhood speeding, the city council delayed a planned review of its traffic calming policies at the last minute.
The rationale for the delay was that the city's traffic policy, printed and given to councilmembers at the start of the meeting, was not made available to the public ahead of the discussion.
The policy is posted on the city website, available here.
"The city policy is do nothing. I didn't need to read it, I already knew that," said a resident who came to the meeting to speak on the issue. The resident left frustrated after the traffic safety discussion was deferred.
"I came to talk about the cars that were totaled in front of my house," said another resident hoping to discuss the issue. "Speeding is getting worse. It's only a matter of time before someone gets hurt."
The city had no specific planned policy change on the agenda, simply a review of its current policies, an opportunity for residents to detail specific issues in their neighborhoods, and an open discussion of potential changes.
One sought change could be the petition process for traffic calming measures. Currently, roads that don't meet high speed thresholds require petition signatures from 90% of residents on the affected street, and 60% on side streets.
Those numbers could be lowered substantially, making it easier for residents to pursue striping, chicanes, visual speed deterrents, or speed humps.
The rescheduled discussion will take place on Monday, October 2 at City Hall at 8pm. Residents can attend the meeting, watch a livestream on the city's Youtube channel, and submit comments on the issue in advance to cityclerk@cityofbowie.org.