Traffic Calming Solutions Discussed at last RFC Meeting

Forge resident Will Morton attended our last meeting to discuss traffic calming on Dunkirk Rd. He has gone to the County and familiarized himself as well as the board on the process to make changes in order to slow down cars. He is looking for feedback on streets that the neighbors may be concerned about. He prepared the following statement which includes instructions on how to proceed and is also looking for some comments on the topic! Feel free to make suggestions in the comment section of this post or email the board @ board@rodgersforge.org

"Where in Rodgers Forge do you think traffic calming measures are needed?

I have applied for the county to consider ways to slow traffic and increase safety along my street, Dunkirk Road. The neighborhood association can ask the county to study other streets, too. Resulting measures could be passive (periodic police enforcement, changeable sign displaying speed), standard (pavement markings, turn restrictions) or physical alterations such as speed humps or traffic chokers, such as at the intersection of Pinehurst and Dumbarton Roads.

Here’s how the process works:

1. A street must be mostly residential and 1,000 feet long and meet additional basic requirements.

2. The county monitors traffic volume and speed for a 48-hour period, assigning points based on average vehicle speed and the highest one-hour traffic volume.

3. The county studies the origin and destination of vehicles and assigns points based on the results.

4. Depending on the total points, the county selects and designs traffic calming measures at a passive, standard or physical level.

5. A community member then must get approval of 75 percent of residents along the street where improvements are proposed. If households immediately adjacent to proposed calming devices do not approve of the plan, it cannot go forward. (A speed hump, for example, could be relocated to another part of the block.)

6. Based on funding availability, construction can begin.

To read more, go to the Baltimore County Web site at: http://resources.baltimorecountymd.gov/Documents/Public_Works/traffic/trafficcalming11-2007.pdf

There are now speed humps on Dumbarton Road and part of Heathfield Road. Stevenson Lane does not qualify as a local street (but it does have a speed camera).

Which streets do you think the county should study? Here they are, alphabetically.

Brandon, Blenheim, Dorking, Glen Argyle, Hopkins, Lanark, Murdock, Pinehurst, Rodgers Forge Road, Old Trail, Overbrook, Stanmore"