Speed Cameras

Speed cameras a start, but student safety requires more To the editor: I have lived in Hagerstown for only a few years and have been amazed by the lack of concern of drivers in school zones. I cannot imagine what drivers are thinking as they speed through school zones during restricted hours. Personally, I don't care how fast you drive on Interstate 70 or 81, however when children are present, putting them at risk is inexcusable. I travel through the school zone on Northern Avenue each morning and follow the posted speed limit.

Hagerstown's first speed cameras were installed Tuesday morning along Northern Avenue at Crofton Road in the area of Fountaindale Elementary School. Members of the Hagerstown Police Department and Brekford - the company contracted to provide the cameras as part of the Hagerstown Automated Speed Enforcement Program - attended the camera kickoff. “Public safety is very important to us,” Hagerstown police Capt. Mark Holtzman said. “It's been a longtime initiative of the police department to try and reduce the speed around the schools.” A 30-day warning period began on Tuesday for motorists, Holtzman said.

This week in government WASHINGTON COUNTY COMMISSIONERS 58 E. Washington St., Hagerstown Tuesday, March 13, 10 a.m. Agenda • 11 a.m. Capital Improvement Program (CIP) draft review • 11:30 a.m. Operating budget review, public safety, emergency services • 1:30 p.m. 50th Annual JFK 50 Mile • 1:50 p.m. City/county landfill Leachate Collection System upgrades WASHINGTON COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION Board Auditorium 820 Commonwealth Ave., Hagerstown Tuesday, March 13, 9 a.m., channel 99 (portions of this meeting might be closed to the public)

“I'm calling to comment on the county's policy on the recycling program, which is going to begin soon, and us seniors, it's going to cost us more money, we're going to have to pay to recycle, and I think my solution is going to be I'm just going to put everything in the trash again. For many years, I've recycled and saved glass and plastic and such, and now they're going to charging me a lot more to dispose of it. And I'm already paying a trash bill, which is not going to be anything different.

The Hagerstown City Council gave final approval Tuesday night to two ordinances to allow the use of speed cameras in city school zones. The five-member council passed both measures 4-1, with Councilman Forrest W. Easton voting against them. The ordinances will allow cameras to be set up in designated school zones to ticket motorists who drive 12 mph or more over the speed limit. City and police officials have said the cameras will increase safety for children and reduce police workload.

The Hagerstown City Council Tuesday evening unanimously approved the introduction of ordinances that would designate school speed-camera zones and approve a loan to buy larger recycling bins for city residents. The five-member council approved the introduction of an ordinance that establishes citywide school zones, which was first presented by Police Chief Arthur Smith last Tuesday. The school zone ordinance would establish speed limits at more than a dozen locations near Hagerstown schools that could be sites for new speed-monitoring cameras.

Hagerstown Police Chief Arthur Smith this week suggested 15 school zones where cameras could be installed to catch speeding motorists. Smith outlined the locations at a Tuesday night work session of the Hagerstown City Council, which last month voted to introduce an ordinance that would provide for the use of speed cameras. The selected spots are those where police officers have observed or have received reports of speeding, Smith told the council. The goal is to improve safety for children as they travel to and from school for classes or school-related functions, he said.

"Last week they had a thing in the paper about they're thinking about speed cameras and red light cameras, and as far as I'm concerned, they ought to just be honest and say that it's for revenue and stop all the rest of this bull, because I drive commercially and I've never seen that many people in Hagerstown that have gone through red lights. The biggest problem in Hagerstown is the 'right on red after stop.' And in the school zones, there's surely enough police in Hagerstown that they could put one at each of the schools in town.

WASHINGTON COUNTY -- Two new Maryland laws taking effect Thursday target driving safety. One makes writing or sending a text message while driving a misdemeanor. The other allows speed cameras in school zones and within some work zones on highways. "It's going to be just like any other violation," Maryland State Police 1st Sgt. Kevin Lewis said Wednesday of the text message law. "Troopers, when they're out there, will be alert for people who are violating this particular law. " He acknowledged it will be a difficult law to enforce.