Reinstall speed cameras in Kensington now!

[Anonymous]

All of you who are blaming this kid need to go kick rocks and think about why you don't have any empathy.

He was in a crosswalk.

He almost got to the other side and an SUV hit him at a rate of speed greater than the speed limit. You can tell by the photos of the damaged vehicle and the stopping distance where the car ended up.

SUVs are more likely to cause a fatal injury.

Potential for fatal injury increases substantially every 5-10 miles that speed increases.

There was a camera in this area until a few months ago when the contract lapsed. Drivers did slow down while it was there.

There is a 3/4 mile stretch without a signal between Newport Mill and Westfield Wheaton. This includes multiple intersections with neighborhood streets and apartment complexes.

And at the end of the day here, a young man who seems to have been a really good kid, is gone thanks to multiple layers of policy failures.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I think those blaming pedestrians should try getting out of their cars once in a while. Crossings with lights are few and far in between, and drivers don’t stop on unmarked crossings because they have tunnel vision and anyway treat pedestrians as second class citizens.

[Anonymous]

The vendor for the speed cameras went under or something. New ones have been ordered and are coming. But there needs to be physical changes to that six lane portion of University that includes a hill and the high school crossing points. Traffic needs to slow or stop and pedestrians need better visibility, especially after dark.

[Anonymous]

A 30 mph speed limit is still too high. Speed needs to be 15, 20 at most. And put speed bumps every 50 yards, too. The sad reality is speed cameras aren’t a deterrent. People just ignore them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The vendor for the speed cameras went under or something. New ones have been ordered and are coming. But there needs to be physical changes to that six lane portion of University that includes a hill and the high school crossing points. Traffic needs to slow or stop and pedestrians need better visibility, especially after dark.

How do you got out of business issuing camera tickets unless there’s massive embezzlement?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A 30 mph speed limit is still too high. Speed needs to be 15, 20 at most. And put speed bumps every 50 yards, too. The sad reality is speed cameras aren’t a deterrent. People just ignore them.

On University Blvd? You're crazy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There was a camera there before and residents have said that when that camera was originally installed the speeding was greatly reduced so they were very surprised and upset when the camera was recently removed. And now a kid was killed there.

Do we know 100% that a camera would have prevented this? No, but it is a logical conclusion that the likelihood of this accident happening would have been decreased had the camera been there based on past behavior of drivers in that location.

Also apparently this stretch is dangerous because it has drivers going into a blind curve and if the driver is speeding they can’t see what is on the other side of the curve until they’re right there in it. This is where the kid was hit.

I pull out of St. Paul and make a right turn on University nearly every day, and I hate it. Because of the curve, it is impossible to see cars in the right lane barreling down University until it’s (almost) too late.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There was a camera there before and residents have said that when that camera was originally installed the speeding was greatly reduced so they were very surprised and upset when the camera was recently removed. And now a kid was killed there.

Do we know 100% that a camera would have prevented this? No, but it is a logical conclusion that the likelihood of this accident happening would have been decreased had the camera been there based on past behavior of drivers in that location.

Also apparently this stretch is dangerous because it has drivers going into a blind curve and if the driver is speeding they can’t see what is on the other side of the curve until they’re right there in it. This is where the kid was hit.

I pull out of St. Paul and make a right turn on University nearly every day, and I hate it. Because of the curve, it is impossible to see cars in the right lane barreling down University until it’s (almost) too late.

I live near there and never turn from that intersection since it’s a blind curve. My DD babysat for the family when the kids were young, and it’s just devastating.

[Anonymous]

I thought he was hit by a car driving westbound. Isn’t the blind curve eastbound?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I thought he was hit by a car driving westbound. Isn’t the blind curve eastbound?

It's a large road, it was dark, and pedestrians crossing there is very rare.

It's a terrible situation all around.

They should put some better lights on University and St. Paul should not intersect it in the way that it does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There was a camera there before and residents have said that when that camera was originally installed the speeding was greatly reduced so they were very surprised and upset when the camera was recently removed. And now a kid was killed there.

Do we know 100% that a camera would have prevented this? No, but it is a logical conclusion that the likelihood of this accident happening would have been decreased had the camera been there based on past behavior of drivers in that location.

Also apparently this stretch is dangerous because it has drivers going into a blind curve and if the driver is speeding they can’t see what is on the other side of the curve until they’re right there in it. This is where the kid was hit.

I pull out of St. Paul and make a right turn on University nearly every day, and I hate it. Because of the curve, it is impossible to see cars in the right lane barreling down University until it’s (almost) too late.

I live near there and never turn from that intersection since it’s a blind curve. My DD babysat for the family when the kids were young, and it’s just devastating.

Yes, we received an email from Kensington Nursery School about it. Different generations, but still, it’s a community. Such a tragic loss.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The vendor for the speed cameras went under or something. New ones have been ordered and are coming. But there needs to be physical changes to that six lane portion of University that includes a hill and the high school crossing points. Traffic needs to slow or stop and pedestrians need better visibility, especially after dark.

How do you got out of business issuing camera tickets unless there’s massive embezzlement?

The vendor provided the cameras. They weren’t getting the ticket money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The vendor for the speed cameras went under or something. New ones have been ordered and are coming. But there needs to be physical changes to that six lane portion of University that includes a hill and the high school crossing points. Traffic needs to slow or stop and pedestrians need better visibility, especially after dark.

How do you got out of business issuing camera tickets unless there’s massive embezzlement?

The vendor provided the cameras. They weren’t getting the ticket money.

According to an IG report, no one really knows what they were getting:

https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/OIG/Resources/Files/PDF/IGActivity/FY2025/OIG25-007.pdf

[Anonymous]

University as a whole is dangerous for pedestrians. The crosswalks are a joke - you must have blind faith that seven lanes of speeding, distracted drivers will stop for you. I don’t like driving it and I definitely wouldn’t want to cross it as a walker. This is a terrible and preventable tragedy.

The state needs to install more red lights, slow the speed limits, and actually enforce traffic rules.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:University as a whole is dangerous for pedestrians. The crosswalks are a joke - you must have blind faith that seven lanes of speeding, distracted drivers will stop for you. I don’t like driving it and I definitely wouldn’t want to cross it as a walker. This is a terrible and preventable tragedy.

The state needs to install more red lights, slow the speed limits, and actually enforce traffic rules.

The closest shop is the depressing 7-11 a long block away. There's nothing there to cross to but it is a major road that connects Wheaton to Kensington.