Howard County wants to add 18 new school zones for increased traffic enforcement

Increased traffic enforcement, including speed cameras, could be coming to 18 roads near schools across Howard County.

County officials are proposing adding the new “school zones” in the first major overhaul of such traffic safety measures since 2011, said Jennifer Woo, the county’s traffic engineering division chief.

The zones are meant to “improve safety for students, pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists and enhance driver awareness in areas with student activity,” the Howard County Department of Public Works said in a statement.

The need for new zones is driven by the increased number of student walkers and crosswalks, Woo said during a virtual public meeting Wednesday evening.

The most common complaint that Howard County Police receive is about speeding, said Lt. Christopher Valentine, the commander of the department’s traffic management division.

While the county has not proposed lowering existing speed limits, adding the new school zones would allow for speed cameras to be installed on those roads.

The proposed school zones “will allow us to hopefully slow people down around our schools so that our children can arrive safely and give us, as a police department, more tools to be able to get people to slow down and change behavior,” Valentine said.

Police also would be allowed to issue tickets with enhanced penalties, such as double fines, for speeding in a school zone.

If approved, the new zones would go into effect at the following locations.

Columbia

• Cedar Lane, near Harper’s Choice Middle School
• Eliots Oak Road, also near Harper’s Choice
• Harpers Farm Road, also near Harper’s Choice
• Little Patuxent Parkway, near Swansfield Elementary School
• Rock Coast Road, also near Swansfield
• Twin Rivers Road, near Wilde Lake Middle and High schools and Bryant Woods Elementary School

Ellicott City

• Centre Park Drive, near Howard High School in Ellicott City
• Chatham Road, near Northfield Elementary and Dunloggin Middle schools in Ellicott City
• MacAlpine Road, also near Northfield and Dunloggin
• Breconshire Road, near Burleigh Manor Middle School and Centennial High School in Ellicott City
• Kingsbridge Road, also near Burleigh Manor and Centennial

Elkridge

• Summer Home Terrace, near Elkridge Elementary and Elkridge Landing Middle schools
• Rowanberry Drive, also near those Elkridge schools

Laurel

• Stephens Road, near Forest Ridge Elementary School in Laurel
• Leishear Road, near Hammond Elementary School in Laurel

Fulton

• Iager Boulevard, near Fulton Elementary, Lime Kiln Middle and Reservoir High schools
• Westside Boulevard, also near Fulton Elementary, Lime Kiln Middle and Reservoir High schools
• Maple Lawn Boulevard, also near those three schools

The Howard County Public School System currently has 41 elementary school zones, 19 middle school zones and 12 high school zones, according to the county’s traffic engineering division.

The county also has traffic safety zones around private schools, including Glenelg Country School and the Maryland School for the Deaf, both in Ellicott City.

During the county’s presentation Wednesday, officials said that the reasons to add school zones include: the volume and ages of children who walk or bike along a road to school, the distances children travel, vehicle traffic volumes, vehicle speed and movements, and the existence and conditions of sidewalks.

One participant, who did not provide their full name, wrote in the online chat that they felt the “goal” of the expanded school zones is to add more speed camera locations around the county and generate more revenue.

Public comment about the proposed school zones will be accepted until Aug. 24. Questions and comments can be sent to Erjon Rembeci at erembeci@howardcountymd.gov .

At the conclusion of the public comment period, any new school zones will be marked with signs by mid-September, Woo said.