TOWSON, MD—Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski on Friday announced the formation of the Baltimore County Residential Truck Traffic Work Group to engage in a stakeholder-driven process to alleviate burdensome truck traffic in residential areas and improve quality of life for residents.

“For years, residents have raised concerns about heavy truck traffic on local roads, and they are looking for leadership to address this important quality of life concern,” Olszewski said. “By bringing together community members, county staff, and representatives from the commercial transportation industry, we can begin a thoughtful and collaborative process to make meaningful changes to our neighborhoods.”

During the 2020 legislative session, the Olszewski Administration successfully advocated for legislation from the Maryland General Assembly to enable Baltimore County to implement a vehicle height monitoring system program to address the high volume of commercial truck traffic on local roads in southeastern and southwestern Baltimore County. In accordance with the state legislation, the County must first convene a work group, with representatives from the commercial transportation industry, to study the program and make recommendations prior to implementing.

The work group will evaluate existing truck routes; identify areas for enforcement; and evaluate existing signage and identify locations where signage could be improved.

As the program must limit the number of vehicle height monitoring systems, the work group will suggest limits on the number of cameras. The work group will also make recommendations on whether any specific types of vehicles that should be excluded from the enforcement of height restrictions.

The Baltimore County Residential Truck Traffic Work Group will submit a preliminary report by March 31, 2021, and a final report by August 31, 2021. The final report’s recommendations will inform legislation to go before the County Council.

Members

The work group’s membership includes community members, industry representatives, and County employees. D’Andrea Walker, Deputy Director of Transportation for the Baltimore County Department of Public Works, will chair the work group. Members include:

• D’Andrea Walker (Chair), Baltimore County Department of Public Works (DPW)
• Jeff Fraley, Baltimore Industrial Group (BIG)
• Louis Campion, Maryland Motor Truck Association (MMTA)
• Major Jay Landsman, Baltimore County Police Department (BCPD)
• Crystal Patterson, Baltimore County Office of Law
• Pete Kriscumas, Baltimore County Office of Community Engagement (OCE)
• Matt Carpenter, Baltimore County Office of Budget and Finance (OBF)
• John Merson, District 1 Representative
• Ron Metzger, District 7 Representative

The first meeting of the Baltimore County Residential Truck Traffic Work Group is scheduled for Tuesday, September 29, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. A link to the Webex meeting is also provided on the work group’s webpage. Meeting minutes will be recorded from each meeting.