Cameras, speed limit adjustments and other changes are planned for Belair Road after a series of pedestrian deaths last month on the Northeast Baltimore thoroughfare.
The Baltimore City Department of Transportation said Friday the short- and longer-term tweaks came after the agency and Councilman Ryan Dorsey convened a group of traffic experts to evaluate the Belair Road corridor in response to the four fatal crashes in November.
Fatal accidents on Belair Road alone make up more than 10% of deadly automobile collisions in Baltimore City so far this year, prompting Northeast Baltimore community leaders to call for improvements to reduce excessive speeding and crashes on the section of U.S. Route 1.
The first adjustments were expected to come Monday with new school zone speed cameras going live. Additional short-term improvements will include refreshments of faded crosswalk markings, stop bars and speed limit signs, the department said. A red light camera is being added at the intersection of Belair Road and Frankford Avenue, and an additional location is under review, according to transportation officials.
In the longer term, the department is considering reducing the speed limit to 25 mph for the entire corridor, where maximum speed limits currently go up to 30 mph in some segments. Officials are evaluating the possibility of raising the time pedestrians have to cross intersections and installing one to two new signals at points with heavy pedestrian traffic. A lighting analysis might also be conducted.
More evaluations of streetscape and pedestrian safety are expected over the next five years as part of a “Comprehensive Corridor Safety Plan” for Belair Road, the department said. A 0.33-mile stretch of Belair Road is also targeted for a Complete Streets program that aims to slow down traffic by reducing travel lanes from Mareco Avenue to Kentucky Avenue.
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