A Day Later, Speed Cameras Are Operational

Mike Fisher July 15, 2012 at 06:00 pm

Once again, you can not penalize the whole community because of ONE incident or even a handful. It is insanity. Punish the one responsible? Sure! Punish them harshly? Sure! Speed humps on seven courts would be a disaster and as far as the circle, I know where all the cars are at least three or four seconds before I even get to it so I know how to approach it. No cars? I hardly even slow down and know how many times I've nearly hit someone or something? ZERO. It all comes down to whether you are a quality driver or not and how much you pay attention when you need to have 100% of it on the road ahead of you. I thought the circle would be a disaster, but people have done pretty well with it overall. If there are cars in the circle or near it when I arrive, I definitely approach the situation differently. Again, common sense, not recklessness and sociopathic type driving. If the situation on seven courts is so bad, where's all the speed related accidents? Where's all the deaths and car crashes? Where's all the evidence that speed is such a huge health concern? As far as crossing the street, use your brain a little, thats all. If you have trouble crossing the street due to a disability, it's a little more difficult, but that's the same crossing ANY street.
By the way, my mom is not a dangerous driver. My god, you people just don't understand that cars are safer, they drive better and therefore, the speed limits are no longer appropriate.

Mike Fisher July 15, 2012 at 06:07 pm

That is just comical, she's not lucky to not have gotten a ticket, she's just not a reckless driver and neither am I. I pass speed traps all the time exceeding the limit and don't get pulled over, but I've seen others get caught who were going faster than me. Those cops shouldn't be punished, they should be thanked because they are using common sense and understand the spirit of the law. They are looking for guys going 60+, I bet. Quite frankly, going 50 down Joppa road between Walther and Harford is more than safe. I go fast down Walther too and know what else? I've had no problems stopping in plenty of time to allow people to cross the street in front of me when necessary. I don't even squeal my tires or even come close to the people in front of me and I am not a "jerk" stopper, that is to say, when I stop at a light or stop sign, it's a smooth stop. I am always in complete control of my vehicle and my attention is always on the road and what's going on around me.
Again, I'm sorry for your accident, but that is still no reason to punish everyone else and deem anyone who exceeds the speed limit bad, unsafe drivers. It's wrong. The laws are outdated and speed limits are too low. There should be more crosswalks, as a matter of fact, there isn't a single one on seven courts drive. I wouldn't be opposed to putting a traffic light in front of Seven Oaks with a crosswalk with crossing guards during hours school lets out. I'd be fine with that, but the lights turn off at 6pm.

Mike Fisher July 15, 2012 at 06:18 pm

Matter of fact, going 50 down Joppa road from Seven courts to Harford is fine too. The posted speed limit should be 45mph along there, then lower to 40 after crossing Harford. I swear, some of you act like today's cars can barely hold themselves together down the road. It's a miracle they can even stop or steer at all. Ridiculous. Use common sense, cars are better, so speed limits should change as a result.

Mike Fisher July 15, 2012 at 08:33 pm

The more I think about my last comment, the more sense it makes. I think we should petition for a traffic light at Seven Oaks instead of a speed camera. The advantages are obvious. A traffic light stops cars and a crosswalk would be added. Crossing guards would have plenty of time to allow children to cross safely, none of which a speed camera would do. I think this should be a petition we should all get behind because it not only makes sense for safety around Seven Oaks for the kids, but also provides a crosswalk at probably the most dangerous part of seven courts to cross the street. Have the traffic light operational at the same times the speed camera would be, 8am-6pm and then after 6pm, the light just blinks amber until it 8am when it re-engages itself.
This is something that makes sense, improves safety not only for Seven Oaks, but for people crossing the street and provides the very first crosswalk on seven courts drive and there's no better place on the whole street to have one. Crossing over to Weis Market is a lot easier since the road is straight and there is a traffic light nearby, so traffic will be moving slower in this area anyway. Can't we get behind ideas like this instead of speed humps and speed cameras when it comes to seven courts drive or does it simply make too much sense to actually do? This is a great idea, IMO.

Jeanne July 16, 2012 at 12:22 am

But they are still LAWS and they are suposed to be followed. I am not perfect I have gone a little over the speed limit but as soon as I realize it I slow down because I don't want to injure anyone.
There are three crosswalks on Seven Courts Drive one on each side of the circle and at Joppa & Seven Courts. Maybe you need to pay attention more to whats around you because you DON'T see everything around you.

Jeanne July 16, 2012 at 12:27 am

I see your point for the speed bumps Steve and it makes sense. I like your idea about merging the two lanes and putting a median in the middle for people.

Mike Fisher July 16, 2012 at 01:01 am

Won't happen, seven courts should be two lanes where it is two lanes because it is too busy of a street to just have one lane all the way down. There is a small median just before Seven Oaks.
So no one really wants the common sense idea, huh? Figures. :) No crosswalks or extra stop light, just change the whole road and the flow of the traffic. Seven courts is NOT a hard road to cross, it's just not except in one place it's tricky. Having a median up and down the entire road is kind of silly. No other road I can think of is like that because generally, people know how to cross the street without one. Crosswalks are the easy answer. Doesn't surprise me, common sense eludes most people these days it seems. :(

Mike Fisher July 16, 2012 at 01:31 am

You complain about speeders and street crossing in front of seven oaks, but now all you want is a median that runs the length of the road and cuts the width of the road in half which would, generally, make the road more congested. This is a BUSY street, you'd be hard pressed to find a space between cars to even get to the median.
My solution makes the most sense. Traffic light at seven oaks, crosswalk and hell, put a median in front of seven oaks if it makes you happy, but not the whole road. Come on, think ahead more than that, yeah? :)

Mike Fisher July 16, 2012 at 01:36 am

It just amazes me how willing people are to just abandon common sense and ideas that are actually GOOD and solve all the problems discussed in this entire thread topic. Just dismissed outright and instead, lets make the road smaller so theres one long, continuous line of cars that you won't be able to cross through instead of just having a crosswalk and an extra stop light. I just don't understand people sometimes.

Steve Redmer July 16, 2012 at 01:57 pm

@ Mike... Just because cars are built better, and can achieve higher speeds and shorter braking distances, doesn't mean that they are safer necessarily...the biggest factor in most "Accidents" is human error...so your premise is kinda wrong... just because cars "Brake better" doesn't mean we should allow higher speed limits...today's drivers have more distractions than ever...between loud radios, smart phones, gps units, and dazzling new cockpits with lots of shiny buttons to push, many people are paying LESS attention to the road. so raising speed limits may not be the best option....

Steve Redmer July 16, 2012 at 02:04 pm

@ Mike, I never said Seven Courts should be one lane, or that a median should run the entire length of the Road... 7 courts transitions from 2 lanes to 1 lane in the area out front of seven oaks elem...problem is that the merge isn't very well defined...if you travel the road frequently, you will notice many "interpret" it differently....
My suggestion/idea would be to mark the transition VERY CLEARLY with painted lines and perhaps have the merge be complete PRIOR to the school crossing area...and also create a safe crossing area, with a crosswalk, and a median strip(At the crossing area only) where pedestrians can stop and wait half way to ease the crossing... again just a thought, but I wanted to clarify it for you because it didn't seem like you understood what I had suggested

Mike Fisher July 16, 2012 at 02:55 pm

I appreciate that clarification because I did misunderstand. See, here's my problem with that.
The place you are talking about, the "transition", is generally treated by all drivers as two lanes up until there are parked cars on the side of the road (coming from Joppa) OR, if you're coming from the circle, to be honest, I and everyone else treat the road as a two lane road after Pinedale even though there are no white dividing lines for lanes. EVERYONE considers it two lanes and will pass other cars as if it is two lanes and to be honest, should be two lanes in this area anyway. You don't see cars riding down the center of the road through here, they either pick one side or the other. It's generally common knowledge that it's treated as a two lane road at that point, more so on the "trees" side of the road than the other. There is a downhill, then an uphill to Seven Oaks. Problem with your idea is that this is an easy place to cross the road because you can clearly see both sides of traffic (crossing at the bottom of both hills right in the center). This road is meant to be wide in this area because the volume of traffic increases at that point and this is also where people generally "pick their lane" and average about 40-45mph. Now, there is already a small median right in front of Pinedale road (I think it's called Pinedale, Geez, you'd think I'd know since I live here, but I remember places visually a lot better than actual road names.. my brain works funky that way.)

Mike Fisher July 16, 2012 at 03:03 pm

So, what is wrong with using that median strip to cross the street? I've done it, I've seen plenty of others use that small strip to cross the street. The median could be made bigger, but I think it is there more to divide the traffic properly since the road narrows slightly after this place (going away from Joppa). This median acts more as a short divider, but could it be extended or made a little bigger, sure.
As far as interpretation, as soon as you pass Pinedale, everyone treats it as a two lane road that I have seen. The cars pick a side to drive on immediately and stay there. To drivers, there is an invisible dividing line between lanes. At least, that is what I constantly see at this area that runs from Pinedale all the way down to Hapsburg court where the dividing lines are actually painted on the road. I think the lines should be painted on the road earlier, people treat it as a two lane road anyway even to the point of passing each other. I don't really see any confusion with drivers about this area, it's just a given that it's a two lane road at that point without any dividing lines. People overtake (safely) and drive as though the lane dividing lines are there. I've never seen any problems with this area at all, so at least in the minds of the drivers, the interpretation seems to be quite clear. I pass along here all the time once I know which side the drivers in front have chosen. They either immediately get in the "right" lane or the "left" lane.

Mike Fisher July 16, 2012 at 03:11 pm

... however, they never drive right down the center of the road like they are confused about whats going on. It seems, at least to me, as an unwritten "law" that it's a two lane road as soon as you hit that downhill after Pinedale and everyone seems fine with that driving wise. Once you get to Hapsburg, people are already in their lanes. I don't really see the confusion you speak of with interpretation. Everyone I see seems to interpret it exactly the way I just described, it automatic at this point.
I would certainly paint the white lines on the road after Pinedale going down the hill because people use it as two lanes anyway. Maybe the concern is then a four lane highway that kids must cross from Seven Oaks, but it's essentially a four lane highway already. I do want to apologize for misunderstanding your response and for my response, so I am sorry. :) I do, still however, believe that the BEST way to make this area of road better is to put a traffic light in front of Seven Oaks that turns on at 8am and shuts off at 6pm (binks amber) that includes a crosswalk the ONLY one on the whole street) and crossing guards during hours school lets out. Does anyone else here see how many problems this solves that we've been talking about in this thread? Pretty much all of them! Plus, it gets rid of the camera. This is the sensible solution and I don't understand why more people aren't behind that solution. That's it, right there. The solution.

Mike Fisher July 16, 2012 at 03:22 pm

The other thing is that the place where the median is in front of Pinedale gives you a GREAT view of traffic coming from both ways, a very CLEAR view. Why is more median necessary? It's not like people drive over this median, I've walked over to it just for fun several times and hung out there for a few minutes. It's small because you have seven courts slightly narrowing, there are now houses and parked cars on both sides and the median can't be much bigger or you'd be obstructing Pinedale Road. Are you saying you want to extend the median down the hill a little? Well, that makes it harder to see traffic coming from the circle because of the road elevation lowering. I don't think there's much more you can do with that median strip and furthermore, why would anyone need it bigger? It's a safe place to stand and a safe halfway point to cross the street. As a matter of fact, the entire area between the circle and Pinedale is perfectly safe to cross because visibility of all traffic is so good and the road is straight with no hills. The circle itself is even a good place to cross the street (I do it all the time). This stretch of seven courts, aside from the Weis end, is the straightest, levelest part of the whole road and the easiest part of the whole street to cross and it's EASY. I guess I miss your point about the median, although it is a good idea on paper, I don't see how it could really work in this case.

Mike Fisher July 16, 2012 at 03:32 pm

I'm all for white lines painted on the road to officially make it a two lane drive after Pinedale since that's how all the drivers I ever see treat it anyway AND, the whole point of this thread was about the speed and how it's such a huge problem even though there's no evidence of that. People do speed on seven courts, but it's not causing problems, injuries, accidents or anything of the sort and never has! It's a flat out non-issue. The issue is that Seven Oaks doesn't even feel like a school zone to me because it's behind the retirement building (or whatever that building is that I never go to or pay much attention to).
Seven Oaks needs a traffic light, period. One that turns itself on during relevant hours and off at 6pm and just blinks amber. IMO, just a blinking amber light would slow people down a little bit even at night along this street because people would know there's a crosswalk there. It may just be a few mph, but people would think twice before flooring it through a blinking amber light in this area. Seven courts needs a crosswalk and there's no better place for one than right here along with this light. People were complaining about children crossing the street here, right? Remember? Crying about the safety of the children? There's your solution along with two crossing guards. Problem solved. Where's the issue now? The median is now an issue further up the street? C'mon guys. I have ADD and I'm having trouble keeping up with you people. lol

Tim July 16, 2012 at 04:21 pm

Speeding on Seven Courts is only a non-issue until someone gets hurt, or killed.
I myself had to avoid injury by some broad in an SUV making a left turn off of Seven Courts (I was running, and 2/3 of the way across the street when she turned) at about 25 mph while having her cell phone attached to her ear. Speeding is definitely an issue. Tons of foot traffic during the spring -fall months. It's a residentially used road. Saying it's a non-issue just because there aren't more casualties isn't an accurate argument because it doesn't factor in the behavior of others. Now, I am all for options besides speed cameras, if they are viable. I was happy they put the circle in when they did - if nothing else, it was entertaining watching Maryland drivers head explode at seeing one and not knowing what to do.

Jason July 16, 2012 at 05:22 pm

Wow Tim. "Some Broad in a SUV?"
Did you just step off the set of Guys and Dolls? Stay classy Perry Hall.

Tim July 16, 2012 at 06:10 pm

Jason:
Are you really worried about the comment "broad"? She deserves a far worse comment then that, factoring in the fact a) she wasn't paying attention and b) she nearly hit me, a runner. She didn't even stop to check on me - just continued barreling down Gunpowder Rd. I was too busy jumping across the rest of the road to notice specifics. If I had, I'd have gotten her license plate. In fact, truth coming out - it nearly ended up killing me anyway - but what ended up happening turned out to be inevitable anyway - she just accelerated the process a bit unnaturally.

M. Sullivan July 16, 2012 at 06:12 pm

Hahahahahahahaha ! Sometimes a broad is just a broad.

Mike Fisher July 17, 2012 at 01:46 am

Um Tim? She almost hit you because she was talking on her cell phone and wasn't paying attention. Speed had nothing to do with it. You guys are just hell bent on making speeding this huge issue, aren't you? lol
The Mythbusters test I posted in another thread showing that talking on cell phones impairs you MORE than alcohol tells the whole story. It wasn't speeding, it was the damn phone she was talking on. Place blame where it's supposed to be, not where you'd prefer it be. Let's be fair.

Mike Fisher July 17, 2012 at 01:55 am

"Speeding on Seven Courts is only a non-issue until someone gets hurt, or killed."
Fun! Let's apply that comment to other things. Stairwells are only a non issue until someone falls down one and gets killed. Maple baseball bats shattering all over the field are only a non issue until someone gets killed. Mailboxes are only a non issue until someone runs into one on a bike and gets killed. Yeah, pull that argument out. It makes no sense. Cars themselves make everything involving cars issues and potential issues. So you're saying we should remove mailboxes BEFORE someone runs into one and gets killed and remove those stairwells too, hurry up! Someone might die on one! Yeah, what you said is just as ridiculous. :) How long has seven courts drive existed? 25 years? Two deaths and neither one were related to excessive speed, but then you say something like "it's only a non-issue until someone gets hurt or killed". PLEASE! That's a ridiculous thing to say. There is risk of injury in using a stove, should we remove those too before someone gets stuck in an oven? Sorry, but that was just a silly comment to make. Made me laugh out loud.

Mike Fisher July 17, 2012 at 02:03 am

So Tim, are you then implying that if ONE single person dies on seven courts in 30 years of existence due to speeding, that makes it a huge issue? Accidents happen all the time, you can't just push the panic button every time an accident happens. Geez, if we did that, we wouldn't even have cars or planes for that matter.

Mike Fisher July 17, 2012 at 02:15 am

... but the FACTS, the actual facts are that in 25 years or however long this road has existed, no one has ever been hit or killed by a car on this road due to excessive speed. Therefore, it's a non-issue. If it ever happened, it would be an anomaly, but surely, people like you would overreact just as you are now and nothing has even happened. There is NONE, ZERO, evidence that speeding on SCD is an issue, much less a huge issue. Talking on cell phones while driving is a huge issue, complain about that. Rail on those people. All you want to do is think of reasons to blame speeding for everything. That's called bad science. Draw your conclusion, then twist information to make it fit your opinion. Bad science, Tim.

Andy Harden July 18, 2012 at 01:53 pm

Your attempt at humor is cynical. What has happened to our sense of community. Your hyper individualism is what is wrong with this country.

Evets July 18, 2012 at 02:00 pm

Maybe time to stop beating this poor horse?

Evets July 18, 2012 at 02:04 pm

Nah, my attempt at humor was just that, humorous. Lighten up a bit. I could (and have) write volumes about what has happened to our sense of community, but this is not he time or place...

Steve Redmer July 18, 2012 at 02:41 pm

I thought it was clever Evets lol!
and Andy, I disagree with what you said about "Hyper-Individualism"...Individualism is not the problem, it is the increasing Collectivism that I notice that is destroying the Community...I constantly see groups of people trying, and many time successfully, to force their views and desires on others for the "Common Good"...

Tracey July 20, 2012 at 12:22 am

don't worry, they are doing their due diligence over on Silver Spring. I passed two cop cars lying in wait on my way to pick up the little one at 1pm. Not 5 minutes later on the return trip they had snagged two suckers.

Jim August 7, 2012 at 02:13 am

Tim is probably at home collecting unemployment lol