City Council Directs Traffic Safety Improvements

While nothing will happen overnight, the Bowie City Council was unanimous in its direction to city personnel to review current traffic safety policies and adopt changes.

At Monday's council meeting, members cited specific city, county, and state roads where repeat concerns have been raised about speeding and pedestrian safety.

The discussion concluded with direction to city staff to inventory current policy, return with proposals to make traffic calming easier to implement, and prepare a letter to county and state traffic officials on areas of concern in their jurisdiction.

"It's about time," said one resident who attended the meeting, "It was nice to see some action and I was glad the whole council was on board."

The topic of discussion had several false starts, appearing on the city agenda three times since September, delayed repeatedly, first because of a miscommunication with city personnel, and then to give the public more time to review the city's existing traffic policies.

Also discussed was the ongoing speed camera expansion in the city. "The state previously made locally operated speed cameras very limited," said city personnel, "With a change in state law, we're now able to operate city speed cameras in many more locations."

The camera program will be managed by the Bowie Police Department, and incorporate rotating cameras in fifteen preselected locations throughout the city.

The program will be eligible for expansion on a year-to-year basis.

"It won't be enough cameras at first," said Councilmember Estève, "A lot of folks are going to want one on their street, and there won't be enough in the first years."

Estève raised the possibility of relying on new stop signs as a short-term measure to force drivers to slow down in areas where speeding is a concern, with the possibility of replacing stop signs with cameras in the longterm.

"I hear staff concerns that too many stop signs can cause drivers to take them less seriously," said the councilman, "But it's undeniable that stop signs slow people down. Even if they do a rolling stop, they're forced to slow down and pay attention, which is the point of traffic policy."

In subsequent meetings, city personnel will present on expanding traffic calming options, to include speed humps, striping, rumble strips, and flashing speed readers as additional tools.

Currently, city councilmembers can request speed studies conducted on any city-managed street. If findings indicate speed and safety data above a preset level, traffic calming measures can be deployed immediately.

Most streets studied in recent years have not qualified for immediate traffic calming.

A petition process exists to override speed studies, though petition standards are high. 90 percent of residents on a given street, and 60 percent on connecting side streets, must sign petitions to direct traffic calming.

City personnel will present in coming meetings on more reasonable thresholds, consistent with other Maryland municipalities. The goal will be to make implementing traffic calming at residents' request easier.

"The ultimate goal is improved safety," said Councilman Estève, "It won't solve the issue totally, but steps in the right direction are better than the alternative."