As has been reported already, speed cameras are on their way to Centreville.
While the ordinance may have been passed with little fanfare or opposition, since people have become aware of it, opposition has begun to mount to the idea.
This writer has been a part of that opposition, jointly submitting a letter to the Bay Times and Record Observer highlighting several problematic aspects of the ordinance along with the generally problematic nature of speed cameras and government reliance on them.
To quickly re-cap the problems noted in the letter, Centreville will be using RedSpeed, a contractor the town of Trappe hired to run their speed camera program with and then terminated said contract with in just a year citing an unfriendly appeals process and a belief that it wasn’t the kind of thing they wanted in their town.
Additionally, and much more problematically, RedSpeed will receive a cut of each ticket that gets issued for speeding. This is seemingly in direct violation of state law which states:
Since submitting that letter I and others have continued to research the issue and at least one more problem with the ordinance appears to have cropped up.
The ordinance establishes school zones in which the cameras can be placed and operated. This is allowed and is in fact required under state law to place speed cameras.
However, the wording is of great concern. From the ordinance:
§ 154-32. School Zones.
Subject to compliance with all applicable provisions of Section 21-803.1 of the Transportation
Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland, the Town Council of Centreville hereby establishes
the following roads as School Zones:(A) Queen Anne’s County High School Zone:
All public roads located within the corporate limits of the Town of Centreville and within a halfmile radius of Queen Anne’s County High School, which is located at 125 Ruthsburg Road,
Centreville, Maryland the location and radius of which is depicted on Exhibit A attached hereto.(B) Centreville Middle School Zone:
All public roads located within the corporate limits of the Town of Centreville and within a halfmile radius of Centreville Middle School, which is located at 231 Ruthsburg Road, Centreville,
Maryland, the location and radius of which is depicted on Exhibit A attached hereto.(C) Kennard Elementary School Zone:
All public roads located within the corporate limits of the Town of Centreville and within a halfmile radius of Centreville Elementary School, which is located at 420 Little Kidwell Avenue,
Centreville, Maryland, the location and radius of which is depicted on Exhibit A attached hereto.(D) Centreville Elementary School Zone:
All public roads located within the corporate limits of the Town of Centreville and within a halfmile radius of Centreville Elementary School, which is located at 213 Homewood Avenue,
Centreville, Maryland, the location and radius of which is depicted on Exhibit A attached hereto.(E) Queen Anne’s County Board of Education School Zone:
All public roads located within the corporate limits of the Town of Centreville and within a halfmile radius of the Queen Anne’s County Board of Education, which is located at 202
Chesterfield Avenue, Centreville, Maryland, the location and radius of which is depicted on
Exhibit A attached hereto.(F) The Wye River Upper School Zone:
All public roads located within the corporate limits of the Town of Centreville and within a halfmile radius of The Wye River Upper School, which is located at 316 South Commerce Street,
Centreville, Maryland, the location and radius of which is depicted on Exhibit A attached hereto.
The map above is something I roughed up showing the half mile radius from each school described. For those interested, here is the Exhibit A referenced, but it only shows the amalgamated mass of zones, not the individual radii.
And it’s those radii that are important. In and of themselves, they are not particularly objectionable. However, the ordinance also designates “All public roads located within the corporate limits of the Town of Centreville” as part of every zone.”
That’s a pretty big problem as the state law allowing the creation of school zones, which the ordinance references as the source of the town’s power to create the zones, explicitly states:
(a) (1) Subject to subsection (f) of this section, within a half–mile radius of any school, the State Highway Administration or a local authority:
(i) May establish a school zone and maximum speed limits applicable in the school zone
Now compare those radii with this map showing the boundaries of the Town of Centreville.
As is clearly visible, not a single one of these radii covers the entire town. For that matter, not even all of the radii together cover the entire town.
I don’t see anyway that the Council’s decision to include all public roads in Centreville is anything but a violation of state law, making that at least two different ways that the speed camera ordinance rests on very questionable footing.
There’s no doubt in my mind that the Centreville Town Council made the decision to implement with speed cameras with the best of intentions. But it seems equally clear that they were operating from the mindset of “Something has to be done and this is something so let’s do it.”
The multiple components that run counter to state law scream that this ordinance was not properly considered or researched when prepared and was just rushed through. The people of Centreville and Queen Anne’s County deserve serious deliberation on policy matters like this, not hasty, slip-shod legislation of questionable benefit.
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