Drivers on Route 50 in Easton already know the delays from vacation and special events traffic to and from Ocean City are currently even longer than usual.
That is largely the result of a $9.9 million Maryland Department of Transportation’s State Highway Administration “Serious About Safety” traffic improvement project.
This project includes:
- New sidewalks along both sides of Route 50 between MD 331 (Dover Road) and MD 328 (Matthewstown Road/Goldsborough Street)
- New signalized pedestrian crossings at Route 50 intersections with MD 328 and MD 331
- Extension of Route 50 left-turn lanes at Dutchmans Lane and MD 331
- Construction of raised/landscaped medians
- Building channelizing islands along Route 50 at Hawkes Hill Road, High Street and Heworth Road
- Drainage upgrades
- Reconstruction of the traffic signal at Route 50 and MD 331
- Median changes that will restrict left turns from Lomax Street onto westbound Route 50
The scheduled completion of the entire project is the fall of 2027. As is the case with almost all large-scale government funded transportation construction projects, completion schedules are subject to unexpected delays.
Exactly when this project is completed is not important.
What is more important is that SHA has not and is not addressing a long-term critical traffic safety problem on Route 50.
That problem is drivers on Route 50 who run red lights.
These are not drivers who speed up when approaching and running yellow lights before they turn red. These are drivers who run through red lights at full speed.
I have seen this happen more times than I can count.
Three recent ones are fresh in my mind.
While waiting for a green light at the intersection of Chapel Road and Route 50 I saw two tractor trailers drive through red lights on Route 50 at full speed.
While waiting for a green light at the intersection of Goldsborough Street and Route 50, I saw two cars driving through red lights on Route 50 at full speed.
While waiting for a green light at the intersection of College Drive (Route 213) and Route 50 at Chesapeake College, I saw five cars drive at full speed through red lights on Route 50.
This is not an uncommon occurrence. They occur almost every day and every night in Easton and Talbot County.
Accordingly, drivers have learned it is best to always pause and confirm traffic on Route 50 has already stopped before proceeding to enter or cross Route 50. That pause results in other waiting cars having a longer wait for the next green light.
Pause, wait, and confirm is far from the best way to address this problem.
Red light speeding cameras at every Route 50 intersection is the best way to address this problem.
These cameras do not require a law enforcement presence at those intersections. They operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year.
Some may say red light speed cameras are an invasion of privacy. That concern could be addressed if they are programmed to only capture license plate numbers of red-light runners and not capture driver images.
Red light cameras could be and should be comparable to the cameras used by the widely used and widely accepted EZ pass program that only captures license plate numbers for toll billing.
Some will say the real purpose for red light traffic cameras is not for safety, but as simply another way for the government to collect more money.
To address that concern, the fines for running red lights can be set at a level that covers the costs to install the cameras, maintain the cameras, and to process the collection of fines only from drivers who run red lights.
Red light traffic cameras are a cost effective and fair way for safer travel on Route 50.
Every driver on Route 50 who does not break the law by running red lights has nothing to fear about for whatever penalties are in place for those who do run red lights. Conversely, every driver at all the intersections on Route 50 has far less potential for a serious or fatal accident caused by drivers who not only run red lights but also break the law.
Addressing this problem is consistent with the Maryland Department of Transportation’s and the State Highway Administration’s “Serious About Safety” initiative.
Now is the time for the Maryland Department of Transportation and the State Highway Administration to walk their talk with regard to being serious about safety. Do whatever is necessary to install red light traffic cameras on Route 50 to help avoid accidents, help avoid accident injuries, and help save lives.
