Last month’s Bolton Hill Bulletin detailed separate efforts by residents around W. Lafayette Avenue and Laurens Street, in conjunction with the BHCA Traffic Committee, to persuade the City’s transportation agency to undertake efforts to slow speeding and reckless vehicle traffic (often cutting through Bolton Hill between Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd and I-83).
City representatives attended the Jan. 3 BHCA meeting and provided updates. Two staff members for city council member Eric Costello’s office, including former BHCA President Neal Friedlander, noted the support for traffic calming that Costello’s office had conveyed to Baltimore City Department of Transportation (DOT). Liam Davis, DOT’s Legislative Affairs Manager, detailed the status of the proposal.
DOT agreed with BHCA’s and Costello’s recommendation to make the focus area the two streets’ entire paths across Bolton Hill: Lafayette Street from Eutaw Place to West Mount Royal Avenue, and Laurens Street from Eutaw Place to Park Avenue. While Davis did indicate progress with this request, he underscored that DOT has received and installed a record number of traffic-calming installations in recent months.
Davis said DOT plans to present recommendations to Bolton Hill – including possible types of installation or intervention – in February or early March. He did indicate that DOT would welcome community input for this report. Residents and other interested parties can review potential installations and provide their feedback to the BHCA Traffic Committee by Jan. 31 using this form. To sign the traffic-calming petition close to you, click here or here.
–Andrew N. Dupuy