Yes. I think the law should be for 7 days a week. I do agree with the grace period.

Bring it! Looking forward to it.

No Tim. Cameras do not FIX the problem of the road being too wide at 4 lanes for the capacity it's really designed for. Take 2 of the 4 lanes away by painting in a shoulder or bike lanes and you will be making a better attempt at fixing the problem. a camera would not have saved the woman who lost her life that night.

Speed cameras are as useless as gun laws and buy-back programs. Criminals do not obey laws. That is why they are called criminals.
By the way, 80% of the "revenue" generated ( that's $32 of the $40 fine) goes to the private company which owns and operates the scameras. www.stopbigbrothermd.org

Should be 7 days a week. Schools are also used as rec fields on Saturdays and Sundays. Kids out playing probably need more protection than coming and going to school, mostly by bus. Don't understand the logic of 5 days, 6am to 8pm. If the cameras are there only to protect the kids, why til 8pm? (And please spare me the the revenue generator only argument.)

I absolutely think the camera should ticket 24/7... why only until 8pm? Beverly was killed after dark...(albeit nearer to 7pm, but this was during the winter) Lots of folks use Seven Courts for recreation well into the evening in the summer.

As far as the one lane-two lane problem: I don't think marking the outside lanes as bike lanes will solve the problem, folks in a hurry are still going to pass. When I'm feeling particularly ornery, I drive right down the center...at the speed limit.

For those of you who think speed cameras are a good idea, why not have them on every street in the country? In fact, driving is too dangerous so cars should be outlawed the all will be safe.Wake up people it's all about siphoning more money from us to pay for wild spending sprees in Annapolis to pay for social programs, politicians raises and crony payoffs. Feel really bad for the lady killed on seven courts but this has nothing to do with her death. Soon cameras will be allowed in places other than school zones -- mark my words.

I don't think speed cameras are the answer. The people that speed on a regular basis might and might not get tickets, even if they do do they pay them until a boot is on their car? Probably not. Speeding is a BIG proble but so is RECKLESS DRIVING and there is not a camera to pick that up. The speed bumps they just put in on Baker Lane (think thats the road) are a joke because they barely have any height to the whole bump, how is this slowing people down? I think putting a bicycle lane on each side of Seven Courts road is a good idea but the county will have to put up cement dividers for drivers to honor those lanes.
On a differnt subject: getting tired of seeing those trucks for pool water being filled up along Seven Courts, this changes the pressure of the water and could be a danger to people living near by if there was a fire. Can't we do something about them?

I'm tired of speed bumps and humps everywhere, and especially tired of the daily speed traps on Harford, Northwind, and Joppa, etc. Speeding didn't cause the death on Seven Courts. I don't see these rabid speeders on Seven Courts and I drive it every day. Its all about the money.

Point is, the camera laws were passed to slow down traffic during school hours. They were not written up to be 24/7 traffic monitors. Having them go til 8 pm is actually too long. If you want to have them used as traffic monitors, contact Quirk to have the laws changed. Quirk loves speed cameras. Or maybe it's Jim Smith who loves speed cameras, since he pulls Quirk's strings... I agree speeding is out of hand in Baltimore County, but having all these cameras bothers me. What about plain old police radar traps? At least those fines go to Baltimore County. Which is another thing, why does so much money go to the company? Who's palm got greased to get that sweetheart deal?

I don't drive Seven Courts every day, but I'm on it enough to know, when I am driving at 30-35 mph and someone is on my butt, guess they think I should move over and let them fly on by. I'm for the camera, it's not about the money going to the co. It's about this being a residential area and many children in this area, their safety!!!!

It just makes me want to move. People will be clamoring to buy houses in our area with all these perks.

At first I was not happy with the idea of these cameras being installed everywhere. I also thought it should require a cop to be sitting there in order to catch you speeding. I'm a bit heavy footed at times and at least wanted the chance to see the cop and hit my brakes as I am a very observant driver! Then I thought about where they install these cameras- around schools and usually in a residential area. Those are places I really watch my speed to make sure I stay within a few mph of the speed limit.
Now I am totally for the cameras! 12 mph is more than enough cushion and if you're going that fast you deserve a $40 ticket if not worse. Frankly I think a cop should sit there occasionally and give out bigger tickets with points. As Tim said above these cameras are deterrents for those people who choose to speed in an area around kids which is very dangerous. I think they need much stiffer fines for those who speed excessively or are reckless/negligent drivers. Anyone who says they are against the cameras are basically saying they see no problem with someone going 43 mph down 7 Courts Drive? Really?

Jeanne - I love the crossing guards - that should be a given in a school area, especially elementary school. My 'perks' comment was sarcasm. If I had to choose between a house with a speed camera, daily speed traps, bumps, etc. and another house, I would choose the other. It just feels like they criminalize ordinary law abiding citizens who make a mistake once in a while. I love Perry Hall, but I would move to another section. Seven Courts is very wide and long. I would not be opposed to making the road narrower and adding more stop signs. The circle they installed turned out not to be so bad, but people don't know how to drive that either and stop unnecessarily. Maybe we need better drivers ed and reminders of the school bus laws sent with the registration renewals.

All of you SHEEP who think cameras are a good idea raise my blood pressure. One day the government will put cameras in your homes to make sure you aren't spanking your children or drinking sugary sodas or whatever. Keep feeding Big Brother.

FIFA a very good idea but too easy to get around it. I know of someone who had to have one installed in his car and he just got someone else to breathe into it. I will never know why they didn't take his license.

I agree with you 100% Tim. I guess he paid people but they are still idiots.

I say do whatever you have to do if it saves lives. If you're not breaking the law what do you have to worry about? As far as the Mon-Fri til 8 pm for the cameras - that isn't going to help the Saturday night Indy 500 that goes on. With summer coming it's going to get worse. I live close enough to the road to hear them all night long.

5

"Crossing guards don't help the fact hundreds of people are walking up and down the sidewalks of Seven Courts road every single day."
I THINK YOUR WRONG HERE.

With that said, I feel like adding crosswalks gives some deadbeats on 7cts. a job. Funny cuz i drive on 7 everyday of my life, and instead of seeing people use xwalks they are instead jiving/skate boarding/walking/texting by like no car can F with them. It's not so much a speed problem because more cops could just issue tickets, it's a community problem. A little overpass bridge like the honeygo one might be succesfull if built and placed correctly. Instead of all you old farts complaining about "young thugs" and speeding. plus this camera lets you go even faster then some speeders did. So all the dinosaurs in here, please note that if cops cared they would be issuing tickets everynight. Franklin Sq has cops there every day it seems why can't they just issue a damn officer on pontrol/watch on 7. You'd be surpised what 7 courts has turned out to be.

In addition. I counted 7 people jay walking on my trip to the mall and back.
WHAT THE HECK A SPEED CAMERA GOING TO DO If people are WALKING AIMLESS IN THE MIDDLE OF 7 CT. 1 MATURE FEMALE/2 GROUPS OF WHITE KIDS /1 GROUP OF BLACK KIDS. AS MUCH AS OLD GEEZERS HATE IT, THE REASON WHY THE LADY DIED WAS BECAUSE OF IDIOTIC DRIVING/BAD MANUEVERING. AND THAT BY BOTH PARTIES. It's sad that you guys come here and blame the thugs of perry hall, like you some of you 30+ don't speed. Even cops text/talk drive same time. Why don't we rant about it here.

Back to the crosswalk guards, gunpowder 7 oaks and 1 other nearby school all have walks and guards even ph middle. they could stay in uniform after the kiddies get home and go work on 7 courts from like 4 to 7? Is there somekind of problem with that? It's another jobb to add and other check for someone to collect.

O and by the way, don't give me no manpower answer or some
"cops switch shift/rotate/cover different areas" If they can add a damn camera, we can add more units to the task force.

UHHH HOW DO YOU TURN THAT ON???? The On switch... I work for state highway in dc, i'd think i'd know a thing about roads..lanes structure.

Pave the road with a mixture of 25% concrete, 25% quicksand, 25% molasses, and 25% carpet tacks - this would be the only way to solve the speeding problem. There is no answer when you see your neighbors, who have young children of their own, speeding on the street and running the stop sign near THEIR house. They know young kids are in the area - they don't care.

MUHAIR my husband and I went to DC September 10th and the "roads and lane structure" suck. Even the FBI men by the road, that were kind enough to help us, commented on how awful the roads are.

The camera was installed last weekend, and it is gone now, just a concrete pad. What happened to it? Anyone know?

Speed cameras are useless and nothing more than a police fund raising tour to rape taxpayers, the ones that pay their damn salaries, over chicken S tickets. The woman who was killed on Seven Courts Drive was hit by a DRUNK DRIVER, not a sober one.

The problem is speed limits are too low. There is no way that the speed limit on SCD should be 30mph, it should be 40mph, 35mph AT LEAST for as wide as it is after the circle. You don't penalize an entire town because of one person, that is ridiculous and insanity at it's finest.

The other insane part is that you can't BUY a car these days that won't go at least 100mph, yet I've never seen a speed limit above 80mph anywhere and only for short distances on remote stretches of highways. Why make cars go that fast, why continue to increase their handling ability, their performance at high speeds and their braking power if we're just going to tell people to go 30mph everywhere. It's a complete scam and fund raising tour, that's all it is.

Speed limits are too low, that's the problem. People driving under the speed limit because they are too old to drive or just suck at driving, that's the problem. People who force curbing to merge them into traffic cutting off other drivers is the problem. Flat out, people who don't know how to drive is the problem, not the speed limits. Cars today, even cars 10-15 years ago can EASILY handle speeds of 40mph and be able to brake and handle more than effectively enough to avoid accidents, it's just 80% of people don't know how to drive a car properly. THAT's the problem. You want to fix the problem?

Raise the speed limits, for one. A speed trap in front of Seven Oaks is ridiculous because the school grounds is behind another building, well away from the road and also because they just don't do a damn thing to stop people from speeding. You want to fix the problem? Stop making cars that can go 100mph, handle tight turns at 35mph or more with ease and brake faster. What's the point in improving the performance ability of cars if you're just going to ticket everyone for using it. I will say a 12 MPH buffer for tickets/warnings is fair because that still means you can go 40mph. No WAY should anyone get a ticket at 2am for driving 50mph down this street when there's no headlights to be seen and everyone is in bed.

Cars today can easily handle higher speeds. It makes no sense to continue to improve car performance if speed limits stay the same. NO sense at all. Make cars with a top speed of 60mph, then you'll fix the problem. Until then, stop complaining about people speeding. People will use the performance they have. More accidents are caused by SLOW drivers than by fast ones.

Weaving in and out of tight traffic without turn signals? Reckless and unacceptable. Driving 10-15mph over the speed limit in a straight line with few cars around? Not a danger to anyone. If someone runs out into the road, guess who's fault that is? THEIRS for being an idiot and running out into the road without looking.

I'm so sick of all this speed camera BS. I have never been ticketed by one. I consider myself a moderately aggressive driver because I will not sit behind slow drivers, but I will not do anything to risk an accident either. It is PAINFUL to drive at 25mph or even 30mph in a straight line on a well paved road. I have lived in this place for most of my life and never once seen a child run out into the street or anything even remotely close to that. What happened to that old lady was a tragedy, a tragedy that ONE person caused and ONE person should be punished for it, not the whole community. BS, all of it and it won't stop speeders either. It will do two things: one, clog up the court system and two, cause massive backlash.

Speed limits need to change. They are too low and way behind the technology and capabilities of today's cars. It's ridiculous.