Speed Limit

"I have a problem with Mail Call. I'd like to know how come most people can only get a tiny little article in, and other people have - go on and on and on and on with long, drawn-out things. And supposedly you time this, and if these people are - they must be speed talkers to get the amount in that they're getting in. There's just something fishy about Mail Call. " - Williamsport "I would like for someone to explain to me why Route 40 going out of Hagerstown is a 35 mile (per hour)

WAYNESBORO, Pa. - It doesn't matter if the speed limit on Mentzer Gap Road is listed as 25 mph or 35 mph on signs if police don't enforce speeding, residents told the Washington Township (Pa.) Supervisors on Monday. Ten residents of Mentzer Gap Road addressed the supervisors to talk about a proposal to lower the speed limit between Beartown Road and Old Forge Road. While split on whether 25 mph or 35 mph is best, the residents were almost unanimous in saying they feel only enforcement would make a difference.

A State Line, Pa., man was charged with drug offenses Monday after he was stopped by police in Hagerstown. Sgt. James Robison was conducting a Safe Routes to School detail in the area around Western Heights Middle School and Marshall Street School when he observed a car traveling over the posted speed limit on Marshall Street at 8:48 a.m., according to a news release from the Hagerstown Police Department. He stopped the car in the 400 block of Rhode Island Avenue. During the traffic stop, the driver fled through yards before being caught by Robison in the 400 block of Indiana Avenue, the release said.

Mentzer Gap Road speed limit changing WAYNESBORO, Pa. -- The Washington Township Supervisors have started the process to set the speed limit on Mentzer Gap Road at 25 mph between Beartown Road and Old Forge Road. Currently, the speed limit changes from 25 mph to 35 mph and 45 mph several times, Supervisor Elaine Gladhill said. On Monday, the supervisors accepted results of a traffic study that justified the 25-mph rate. They must incorporate the change into an ordinance in coming months.

SMITHSBURG -- Smithsburg Police Chief George L. Knight Jr. has decided to push for a lower speed limit in Smithsburg's "core" town area after hearing concerns from residents about speeding in the area. The speed limit in the core area is currently 30 mph, but Mayor Mildred "Mickey" Myers said after Tuesday's regular Smithsburg Town Council meeting that town police officers usually don't issue speeding tickets until motorists reach a few miles over the speed limit. Then motorists start abusing that leeway, Myers said.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. -- The Washington Township (Pa.) Supervisors tackled several issues related to roads during their meeting Monday. Carroll Sturm, Christopher Firme and Elaine Gladhill, the three supervisors in attendance, started the process to lower the speed limit to 25 mph on two roads. One is a much-debated portion of Mentzer Gap Road from Greenridge Drive to a few hundred feet from Valleywood Drive. Included in that section is a slight curve near Hearthwood Drive, where some people say trees owned by James and Vivian Hickman are causing visibility problems.

GREENCASTLE, Pa. -- Motorists will no longer have to guess the speed on select streets in the Borough of Greencastle if the council approves a new speed ordinance. Borough Manager Ken Womack said the council authorized its solicitor to draft a new, more concise speed ordinance that would add signs to five streets and codify some existing signs. Womack said South Allison Street, Madison Street, South Ridge Avenue, Jeffrey Avenue and Baumgardner Avenue would all be marked at 25 mph under the proposed ordinance.