Tim Smith, the new Acting Maryland State Highway Administrator, held a virtual meeting with NAIOP mid-April. Smith indicated a series of very important metrics as it relates to the Maryland State Highway Administration and the Maryland Roadway System. As an example, in 2019 alone, Maryland experienced 60 billion vehicle miles traveled (VMT), and 75% of that traffic was on state maintained roadways.
Pedestrian facilities are now a major focus nationally and Maryland state roads alone experienced 130 pedestrian fatalities in 2018. In January 2020, 30% of the fatalities along state roads were pedestrian related. Indeed, Maryland has a significant and growing pedestrian fatality situation.
Smith indicated that P3 and other innovative procurement methods are the wave of the future and could benefit the state road system the most. Unfortunately, Maryland experiences the second highest commuting time in the country and most is focused on the I-270 commuter corridor and the D.C. suburbs, including the Capital Beltway. All of this was before the shut-down and the COVID-19 virus crisis. After Maryland opens back up, it is highly probable that many businesses, small and large, will have a significant amount of their employees start to work remotely because they will find that the reduction in commuting time will be significant.
Administrator Smith believes that the congestion on the beltway, causing drivers to use the local roadways, is part of the reason why pedestrian incidents have increased as more traffic is now using local roadways versus the interstate.
The new Context Guide placed on the Maryland State Highway Administration website examines different ideas that could be implemented on different types of roadways to improve traffic safety. This guide will be discussed at the Maryland Municipal League (MML) Conference in Ocean City this year by myself and the Secretary of Transportation, Greg Slater.
Some points the Maryland State Highway Administration is examining include:
- No turn on red (which is a safer condition for bikes and pedestrians)
- Curb extensions at intersections
- Bike lanes
- High-Intensity Activated crossWalk (HAWK) beacons for pedestrian crossings
- Reducing speeds along roadways
- Using leading pedestrian phases to assist pedestrians
- Use of continental crosswalks
- Reducing the number of lanes
It is my belief that many things will be different after there is a return to normalcy as it relates to the traffic volumes, congestion, and safety.