Walk Smart Reminders Issued With Peak Season’s Arrival

Walk Smart Reminders Issued With Peak Season’s Arrival

OCEAN CITY — With the arrival of another Fourth of July holiday next week and the anticipated crowds that will bring, state and local officials this week took the opportunity to hammer home the highly successful Walk Smart pedestrian safety campaign.

After a rash of fatal pedestrian incidents a few years ago, Ocean City and the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) launched an aggressive education and enforcement campaign aimed at reducing the number of collisions. Over the last few years, the Walk Smart campaign has included more marked pedestrian crossings at intersections along Coastal Highway, increased signage, road markings and other physical improvements.

Perhaps more importantly, the Walk Smart program has included an aggressive awareness campaign aimed at urging pedestrians to use the designated crosswalks while urging motorists to increase their awareness of pedestrian traffic. As a result, the iconic Walk Smart cartoon crab has been plastered on signs, buses, drink coasters and hotel room placards urging visitors to follow the rules of the road.

Last year, the cartoon crab was officially named Cheswick after a social media poll and Cheswick is now a fixture on the resort landscape, appearing on the beach, Boardwalk and anywhere else large crowds gather to continue to reinforce the pedestrian safety message. Cheswick the Walk Smart Crab was named for Matthew Cheswick, a Maryland teen tragically killed while crossing Coastal Highway in 2012.

On Wednesday, Ocean City and MDOT officials along with Cheswick and law enforcement representatives gathered on Sinepuxent Avenue in north Ocean City to essentially relaunch the Walk Smart, Bike Smart, Drive Smart campaign less than a week before the Fourth of July when the summer season really begins to ramp up.

“It became clear about five years ago we had to take a more aggressive approach toward pedestrian safety,” said Mayor Rick Meehan. “We’re doing everything we can to get that message out. The challenge in Ocean City is that we host 250,000 different people every week.”

With Cheswick on hand, along with other volunteers bearing the iconic Walk Smart message, State Highway Administration (SHA) District 1 Engineer Jay Meredith said while the Walk Smart campaign has been credited with greatly reducing the number of pedestrian-vehicle collisions and fatalities, it was no time to rest on those laurels and the message had to be continually hammered home.

“The Ocean City Walk Smart initiative, which runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day and into the fall, is helping to make Ocean City’s streets safer for bicyclists, pedestrians and drivers,” he said. “We can never be reminded too often that we must all partner together in traffic safety.”

Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) Chief Ross Buzzuro said the arrival of the Fourth of July and the front edge of the peak season in the resort provided a perfect opportunity to reinforce the Walk Smart initiative’s message.

“Especially as we prepare for the influx of visitors for the Fourth of July holiday, we recognize the importance of people following the rules of the road when walking, biking and driving so that our guests can enjoy their vacations and return home safely,” he said. “We urge pedestrians to use the crosswalks, and wait for the walk signal at all times. When biking, ride with traffic and stay alert, avoid distractions and earphone use.”

Each pedestrian-vehicle collision is a little different. In some cases, the pedestrian is not in a crosswalk and dashes into traffic mid-block. In other cases, the pedestrian does all of the right things and uses the crosswalk with the signal and the driver is at fault. In typical cases, there is some level of impairment for one or both parties.

Such was the case in the one and only pedestrian fatality in Ocean City thus far this year in May. A 23-year-old Pennsylvania man was not in a crosswalk when he entered Coastal Highway and was struck and killed by a driver from Waldorf, Md. In that case, the driver was charged with homicide by motor vehicle.

While the Walk Smart campaign has focused largely on education and enforcement, the third “E” in the equation is engineering and there have been a handful of new initiatives in the last year or so aimed at improving pedestrian safety and reducing the number of accidents. The Sinepuxent Avenue location was chosen for Wednesday’s relaunch because it is the centerpiece of sorts for Ocean City’s new bike path program.

In an effort to continue progress in making Ocean City more bicycle-friendly and get more bikes off Coastal Highway and onto safer side streets, resort officials have been working for over a year to implement a bike path for the entire length of town. A big piece of that puzzle has been creating a designated bike path along Sinepuxent Avenue from the Delaware line to Montego Bay made possible by a $57,000 grant from MDOT.

Another major pedestrian safety project is the implementation of a dune-style fence along the center median of Coastal Highway from Route 90 to the Convention Center. The median fence is expected to improve public safety in the known trouble spot section by forcing pedestrians to cross the highway at marked crosswalks at street end and not dash across in between blocks.

It was initially targeted for completion before Memorial Day this year, but bidding and scheduling issues forced a timetable adjustment and the project is now expected to begin this fall. In later phases, the dune-style fence down the median is expected to run nearly the entire length of Coastal Highway from the Delaware line to 9th Street. In the meantime, state and local officials continue to hammer home the Walk Smart initiative.

“When traveling this major eight lane roadway, we cannot let our guards down and that is why the Walk Smart message is so important,” said SHA Administrator Greg Slater on Wednesday. “The success of this project is a credit to the unparalleled support of the town of Ocean City, our business and community members as well as other local and state agencies.”

Meehan said the success of the Walk Smart campaign was shared equally among the state and local partners and especially the resort’s business community, which has embraced the initiative.

“The Ocean City Walk Smart campaign is just one way the Town of Ocean City is committed to keeping its residents and visitors safe,” he said. “Cheswick has become an important part of our work here to help our guests safely navigate our roadways while walking, biking and driving and can be seen inside your favorite shops and restaurants. I’m so proud that so many businesses continue their exceptional support of these efforts.”

Meehan said while education is a key element of the Walk Smart campaign, equally important is strong enforcement. He urged the OCPD to continue to write citations and enforce the laws for pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists.

“We’re encouraging our police department to write tickets and enforce the laws so we can send a strong message,” he said. “This will save lives. Let them know we’re going to hold them accountable.”

Buzzuro agreed and said the OCPD was increasing pedestrian safety details and stepping up enforcement this summer.

“We’re going to educate those who choose to unsafely cross Coastal Highway,” he said. “Accountability is the key and we’re going to do that. Every time the rules are followed prevents a tragedy.”

About The Author: Shawn Soper

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Shawn Soper has been with The Dispatch since 2000. He began as a staff writer covering various local government beats and general stories. His current positions include managing editor and sports editor. Growing up in Baltimore before moving to Ocean City full time three decades ago, Soper graduated from Loch Raven High School in 1981 and from Towson University in 1985 with degrees in mass communications with a journalism concentration and history.