DPW HWYS Danny H assigned this issue to DPW HWYS Traffic

Could you please contact our office to discuss your concerns. 410-313-2430. Thank you.

The Howard County Department of Public Works is in receipt of your request regarding the community speed hump program on Old Scaggsville Road in North Laurel.
Speed Humps are designed to provide an elongated pavement rise that is designed to allow vehicles to travel over them safely at or below the posted speed. To qualify for consideration of the speed hump program, there are initial criteria and conditions which must be satisfied (on file data is listed following criteria in italicized text):

a. There must be a minimum of 1200 vehicle per day on the road. This includes all traffic in both directions during the 24-hour period. A 3 day speed data collection near Clark Springs Ridge performed in September 2020 measured 3490 ADT. No data is on file for the portion of roadway north of the intersection of Old Scaggsville at High Ridge Road.

b. The 85th percentile speed measured must be equal to or greater than 10 MPH over the posted speed limit. The 85th percentile speed is the speed that 85% of the drivers are traveling at or below. The above listed data collection measured a 37.6 MPH 85th percentile speed on the posted 30 MPH roadway. No speed data is on file for the portion of roadway north of the intersection of Old Scaggsville at High Ridge Road.

c. A road must have more than 50% residential frontage (direct driveway access) and be classified as a local street or minor collector. Two portions of Old Scaggsville road meet the frontage requirement and roadway classification; Superior Avenue and Deer Springs Place and, and a length between 9042 and 9180 Old Scaggsville Road.

d. The roadway must be equal to or greater than 1200 feet in length. The roadway length between Superior Avenue and Deer Springs Place is approximately 2112 LF and the length between 9042 and 9180 is approximately 1550 LF.

e. The roadway shall NOT fall within an Automated Speed Enforcement School Zone. Neither of the above listed segments of Old Scaggsville Road are in an Automated Speed Enforcement Zone.

Should the roadway meet conditions (c), (d), and (e), data will be collected and assessed for traffic volumes and speed. If all the above criteria are met, the community may move forward with forming a Traffic Action Committee (TAC) to work with a DPW Traffic Engineer in the development of a layout plan for TAC presentation/ballot for community vote. Households that must drive over a proposed calming device to enter or exit their residence would be included on the voting list (i.e. all properties that must drive over the devices to access the most practical route to MD 216 via All Saints Road), with one property owner vote per household. There must be a 2/3 vote in favor of the calming plan for installation of traffic calming. It must also be kept in mind that the Department of Fire and Rescue will also have input in regards to the installation of speed humps as they do impact emergency response travel time.

The public roadway section of Old Scaggsville Road between Superior Avenue and Deer Springs Place meets conditions (a), (c), (d), and (e) as listed, while condition (b) is not met. There is presently not enough data on file for the portion of the road between 9042 and 9180 Old Scaggsville Road to determine eligibility for the program. A new speed study is scheduled for both locations as of May 4, 2022.

In the immediate time being, citizens are encouraged to contact the Howard County Police Department at their non-emergency number (410) 313-2929 for enforcement or to request deployment of their temporary portable speed feedback sign. For enforcement purposes it would greatly aid the request if there is a specific time of day residents are noticing speeding the most.

The specific span of Old Scaggsville that I am referring to is 9336 - 9231. My home Address 9267 Old Scaggsville Road.

I am also very concerned about Robinson Ave and Gross , Grant and Bryant the people taking “short cuts” through that development is insane. Part of the problem is that’s the way GPS tells people is a “shorter route”

I have lived on this road my whole life 9237 was my previous address. I have never seen it this bad ! Howard county public School system has their buses pick up and drop off any students who reside on old Scaggsville road directly to their driveway due to the hazard on this road, this has been a requirement for over 15 years.

Cornerstone and trinity homes should have to invest in this community if they want to continue to build there is no reason why those companies cannot invest in safe roads for the families they are bringing to the area.

Thank you for submitting your request to the Howard County Department of Public Works\Traffic Engineering Divison. Our staff will investigate this issue and respond.

A speed study was performed from May 24th to May 25th, 2022 on Old Scaggsville Road near 9082 and 9328 Old Scaggsville Road. Both traffic volumes and the speed on Old Scaggsville Road meet the condition (a) and (b) mentioned above, therefore Old Scaggsville Road does qualify for the speed hump program.
Please see the message below for your next steps. Feel free to contact our office at 410-313-2430 at any time for questions. Thank you,
My street meets criteria for traffic calming installation. What’s the next step?
1. Find 6 volunteers from the community to serve on the traffic action committee (TAC).
2. When you have a committee formed, contact Highways, Traffic Engineering Division at traffic@howardcountymd.gov or 410-313-2430.
3. The County’s traffic calming engineer will develop a preliminary traffic calming device layout design and present it to the TAC.
4. The TAC and the County work together on designs until a final traffic calming device layout is developed. The County’s traffic calming engineer designates the proposed locations with white spray paint on the road for the community to see exactly where devices may be installed.
5. A community public meeting is held for the TAC to present the plan to the community. The County’s traffic calming engineer attends to answer any questions. Notice of the community meeting must be posted with signs installed by the County’s traffic calming engineer 7 days prior to the meeting.
6. The TAC creates a ballot for voting. One side of the ballot shows the calming layout and the other side is where the homeowners vote. The County’s traffic calming engineer must approve the design of the ballot prior to use.
7. The TAC conducts the voting process. 2/3 of the residents must vote in favor of the calming plan for installation of traffic calming. Unreturned votes count as a ‘no’. One vote per household. The County’s traffic calming engineer provides the TAC with the list of households to be included in the vote. Typically, the households that must drive over a proposed calming device to enter or exit their residence would be included on the voting list.
8. The TAC provides the ballots to the County’s traffic calming engineer with a total count of the voting results.

One area that was monitored in May was in front of 9336, I saw the device. This is approximately 200 feet from All Saints Rd where 80% of the volume on Old Scaggsville Rd comes from or exits. So, 80% of the cars monitored have no time to accelerate to the excessive speeds they travel or have already slowed to make the turn on All Saints. Average that into the 20% coming from Pilgram Ave, I am sure the number is at or below 40MPH. This is how the study is manipulated to avoid doing anything about the issue.

There is the same issue with the study, if it was done at 9082. All of the through traffic has exited onto Stansfield Rd before they reach 9082. So, most the cars monitored in this location are the residence that live here and complain about the excessive speeds.

I am not sure why the community needs to form a committee. If the county police were to set up radar just about anywhere between Superior Ave and High Ridge Rd, they will have the data you need. If the county police were to set up radar a couple time a week it would greatly reduce the amount of speeding all together. Proper traffic calming would just about eliminate it.

The last point I would like to make is that it only takes one car to kill a person, not the average speed of 1200 vehicles above 10 MPH. I, just like everyone else that has complained, lives on this road. We see the cars going more than double the posted speed limit, all day and night. Our children have to walk on this road with no sidewalks, not to mention the blind curves and hills. This is a congested neighborhood, not a country road with no houses. It is only a matter of time before someone is a victim.

Awgalotta let me know if you would like to join the committee. I actually lived my whole life on Old Scaggsville Road 9267 Old Scaggsville, and now I am raising my own kids at 9267 Old Scaggsville. I do have enough members for the committee but the more the better.

I would be willing to join the committee.

Awgalotta that would be awesome I spoke with representatives from the county Friday, they would like me to send them a list and contact information for all committee members. Only 1 person per home address can be on the committee, right now It’s me , the Weigert’s, Folkenbergs, Shermans, we need a total of 6 people that either live on old scaggsville or use old scaggsville to access their home.