The State Highway Administration has designated a new school zone on MD 924 in Bel Air near Patterson Mill Middle/High School, and plans to install a new pedestrian crossing signal at the intersection with Patterson Mill Road.
The new school zone extends along MD 924 from just south of Patterson Mill Rd. to just south of East Ring Factory Road, according to a December letter from SHA to County Council Member James “Capt’n Jim” McMahan , District C, Bel Air.
McMahan asked SHA to designate a school zone at MD 924 and Patterson Mill Road, citing the high number of student walkers in the area and school buses entering the state highway from the school. Fines for speeding can be doubled in a school zone.
McMahan said that he made the request in response to constituent concerns.
New signs alerting drivers to the school zone and doubled fines are planned, and should be installed before March, said Charlie Gischlar, a spokesman for SHA. Once the signs are posted, law enforcement can enforce the school zone, said Harford County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Edward Hopkins.
No change to the current speed limit of 40 mph is planned by the state, according to Gischlar, although McMahan said he is considering whether to request a reduction to 30 mph during school hours only, Monday through Friday.
In addition to the new school zone, a new pedestrian crossing signal has been approved for the intersection of MD 924 and Patterson Mill Rd/Barrington Rd, Gischlar said. Pedestrians will be able to activate the signal, which will also have a countdown feature.
Speed cameras are allowed in school zones by state law. However, Gischlar said that they first have to be proposed by the local jurisdiction. When asked if he was planning such a proposal, McMahan said, “Absolutely not.”
Below is the December 13th letter from SHA to Councilman McMahan, announcing the new school zone:
“Dear Councilman McMahan:
This is a follow up to your request to have Patterson Mill High School marked as a School Zone along MD 924 (Emmorton Road) in Harford County. We have completed our review and would like to share our findings with you.
During our review, it was determined that this location does meet our guidelines for establishing a school zone with fines doubled. The school zone will be from just south of East Ring Factory Road to south of Patterson Mill Road. The school zone will include Ring Factory Elementary, Patterson Middle/High School, and The Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd. Weather permitting; we anticipate having the signing installed within the next 90 days.
Thank you for your interest in this matter of traffic safety and operations.
Sincerely,
David W. Peake
State Highway Administration – District 4
Metropolitan District Engineer
Baltimore and Harford Counties”
This is great for the kids with regard to safety, but to already rumbling Anti Walmart fans….you thought traffic is gonna be bad when Walmart comes (and they will)….whew. Good luck with that! Glad I didn’t set up shop near festival.
You can put in all the crosswalks, signals and lower the speed limit all you want around a school zone. It does not work. It has not worked around the Edgewood school campus. The speed limit there is 25 miles an hour and people fly down the road at all times of the day… This includes the school bus drivers who sometimes run red lights as well. The students have no clue what a crosswalk is and run across the road right in front of traffic expecting cars to stop for them.
EHS is also on a four-lane road, a 25mph limit isn’t common on that size of road, plus those traveling East have very few driveways on their side of the road. Ticket the jaywalkers so they learn traffic safety before a tragedy happens.
Ticketing jaywalkers is only part of it – the number of people jaywalking is a minifraction of the number of drivers racing around much faster than the posted safe speed dictates. Excess speed and aggressive driving are much bigger problems than people crossing against the light. We ought to double the fines in school zones so that it sends a message to drivers; $300.00+ per infraction seems fair to me.
School zone infractions are doubled!
This is awesome but wish the State would do the same for the students at Harford Tech! Kids are always going to McDonalds after school. There have been numerous accidents just this school year alone, thank goodness none of our children have been involved (that I am aware of). The state said they did a study and didn’t see a need for pedestrian signal. I’m sorry but this intersection never allows for a safe opportunity for them to cross Route 22.
The state does do something, its called driver education. It’s not our fault (citizens) that high school kids can’t pay attention when driving.
The students walk to the McDonalds.
No shit Sherlock, driver education includes everyone, combined with kids who also can’t drive.
A large number of high school students are not getting their drivers’ licenses until 18 or after high school due to the high costs (a teen can’t have a license and live in a car-owning parents’ house without being insured on a car), so they’re not taking driver’s ed at 15.
Are their sidewalks? Perhaps if not students should not be walking on the highway. Is a road still a highway if it has lots of crosswalks and lights?
Nope, no sidewalks to use on Thomas Run, Rt 22 or on Schucks Road. Unfortunately, our 9th and 10th graders don’t have driver’s license so they can’t drive there.
perhaps they should not walk to macdonalds
Oh I agree but when school lets out and their practices sometimes don’t start until 3 p.m. or later, it is not the school’s responsibility to watch them. I’m sure parents tell them not to do it because it is dangerous; but have you forgotten what it is like to be a teen? They have no fear and they think mom and dad won’t find out.
Adults can’t drive either but I get your point. That intersection can suck, but inattentive driving runs rampant especially kids.
I believe Walmart’s traffic study covers this area. I’m wondering how the school zone designation might affect Walmart traffic study requirements, if at all.
Does anyone know if traffic allowances are reduced in school zones? I also wonder if Walmart-funded traffic mitigations, if required, would have to be of a higher caliber because of the school zone designation (higher cost to Walmart).
Does anybody who is deep into the Walmart fight know if this new school zone has any bearing on the outcome?
It probably doesn’t have any impact on the traffic study. It could have implications for the types of sidewalks and crossings that might be required (more costs), but in terms of the traffic or road design it likely means nothing. There are scores and scores of examples of schools and school zones with massive amounts of traffic, congestion, roads, etc.
The largest effect, possibly, might be an official “stamp” from the state that it is a school zone, and if there are any additional complications related to that– possibly with regard to sales of firearms, access to 924, or some other cryptic state laws/issues I am not terribly familiar with. I researched some of that when the initial request was made and I didn’t find anything.
I hope this will prevent sales of firearms in WalMart. We don’t need guns being sold near a school.
How is the sale of firearms off school property any different if it happens 10′, 100′, 1,000′ or 10,000′ from the school’s border? Has anyone ever purchased a firearm and walked directly to a school to begin shooting people?
Do you also object to alcohol, tobacco, religious materials, adult magazines, trans-fats, HFCS-containing products, etc, being sold within the same zone?