Does anyone know if it is possible to get a police camera at one of the more problematic intersections in our community? I take the Ride-On bus to the metro M-F, and as I stand at the corner of Kentlands Blvd. and Tschiffely(sp?), I am astounded by the number of cars that run those stop signs. I watch kids ride down Booth St. to cross Kentlands blvd. in an effort to catch the crossing guard at Quince Orchard, and I pray every day that some fool doesn't hit them. NO ONE stops. Some may slow down, but it's amazing how those stop signs appear to be invisible. One evening when I stepped off the bus, I started across Kentlands Blvd. with a friend. She was slightly in front of me and I had to pull on her coat to keep her from getting whacked by someone speeding through the stop sign. In case you were listening, that was me pitching a fit in the middle of the street. Anyway, I have (and so have my fellow bus patrons) contacted the Gaithersburg police about this. They have been responsive to the extent that they can, but they simply don't have the staff to sit out there every day and watch for delinquent drivers. Any suggestions would be most appreciated. Thanks very much.

-- Robin Caldwell (secrec@earthlink.net), February 20, 2000

Answers

I would continue to ask both the Gaithersburg and Montgomery County police to do spot checks at the intersection. I see them often in the neighborhood and they do this from time to time mid-way down Tschiffely. The Gaithersburg police are usually very helpful and cooperative. If an intersection becomes known as a place where the police tend to be on the lookout, it might help.

-- Elly Shaw-Belblidia (mirinor@aol.com), February 23, 2000.

My contacts with the City on traffic issues have not always been rewarding. But it's pretty clear from experience around Kentlands that driver awareness campaigns really have to begin, if not end, with enforcement. I can't see where big orange flashing signboards have changed the average speed on Chestertown Street by one centimeter per second. However, flashing blue lights would probably be another story.

It's impossible to catch all the culprits, but unless there are about five consecutive days featuring aggressive (read ticket-writing) police presence, it is tough to expect the message to get through to speeders, stopsign runners, and other miscellaneous scofflaws.

If it's up to the citizens to affect the City's approach, maybe we shouldn't settle for less than greater and more effective police presence at trouble spots.

-- David Fetzer (dfetzer@his.com), March 04, 2000.

We live on Midtown Rd. a couple of houses from the intersection w/ Thurgood and about 1 1/2 blocks from the intersection w/ Booth. Both of those intersections have stop signs to which many drivers don't pay attention. Driving down Midtown from Main Street, I have almost been hit (more than once) by cars that ran the stop sign at Booth. And we see a number of cars speeding down Midtown past our house and hardly even slowing down when they get to Thurgood. There are lots of people walking and riding bikes in this area so that makes it especially dangerous. At the recent meeting at Rachel Carson elementary School, representatives of the Gaithersburg police recommended that we get the license number of any offenders and promised they would follow up. But that's often difficult to do. I'm not sure what the answer is. I hope they don't wait till there's an accident or someone gets hurt to do something.

-- Dee Aronson (deearonson@erols.com), March 04, 2000.