OCEAN CITY – Ocean City’s police department will continue enforcement efforts along a busy uptown thoroughfare in response to citizens’ complaints involving speeding.
On Monday, members of the Ocean City Police Commission took a closer look at speeding concerns along 142nd Street.
“Unfortunately, we’ve had some emails about it,” said Councilman Lloyd Martin, commission chair.
Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) Chief Ross Buzzuro told commission members this week his agency had conducted enforcement efforts along the 25-mph road in recent weeks, but that it revealed no significant speeding violations.
“Really those that are driving more than 25 – that are speeding, in essence – the average speed is 29 mph,” he said. “Although they may be traveling over the speed limit, it’s not severe, like 40 or 45 mph.”
Buzzuro noted that traffic monitoring of 142nd Street in recent weeks resulted in 42 car stops, 21 tickets and 13 warnings. Speeds, he noted, ranged from 19 mph to 46 mph.
Mayor Rick Meehan, however, told commission members he believed the bigger issue to be traffic volume. Officials noted the speed board posted along 142nd Street recorded 252,000 vehicles in the last year.
“What we have is a major thoroughfare going through the middle of a residential area,” he said. “It’s probably the sheer volume of traffic that is more intrusive to the residents than the speed itself.”
Officials this week noted 142nd Street acted as pass-through road of sorts for motorists traveling between Route 54 and Coastal Highway. While he noted enforcement measures have alleviated most of speeding issues, Martin said he was not sure what could be done to address traffic volume cutting through the residential neighborhood.
“We have ‘No Thru Traffic’ signs. The signs are out there …,” he said. “I don’t know what to do.”
Councilman Peter Buas said not much could be done unless the resort addressed the issue from an engineering standpoint.
“It sounds like we are doing everything we can at the enforcement level,” he said. “It’s just whether there’s a capital improvement solution.”
Meehan said the issues along 142nd Street were concerning, as it involved a residential neighborhood with children present.
“People are anxious to get to the beach,” he said. “They are coming in and looking ahead rather than looking side to side. It’s concerning. I don’t know what the answer is.”
Buzzuro said his agency would continue to monitor the area, saying, “… once March, April, May, we can look at it closely, to make sure we set the tone for the upcoming season with our visitors coming in.”
