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State legislators from the Towson area are gearing up for the upcoming General Assembly by preparing bills they plan to sponsor when the Annapolis session opens on Jan. 11, 2012.
State Sen. Jim Brochin, a Democrat who represents Towson in the 42nd District, said he'll offer a measure to more clearly define the use of State Highway Administration speed cameras — and crusade against what he calls an unnecessary use of the cameras in work zones when crews are not present.
Brochin specifically cited the $55 million project to replace the existing Charles Street bridge over the Beltway in the Towson area.
"The whole intent of speed cameras on highways was for worker safety, but if you take a look at September, October, November, there's nobody working there," Brochin said. "There were people working on a bridge 200 feet above (traffic) … and that white SUV sits there snapping pictures and nabbing people.
"There's nothing stopping them from keeping those cameras there for the next five years, even if the construction is complete," he said.
SHA speed cameras are set to issue citations fining car owners when the vehicle exceeds the speed limit by 12 miles per hour or more in work zones.
The camera at the Charles Street work zone has been in operation since November 2009 and, according to figures on the SHA website, that location has seen the third-highest number of speed camera-recorded violations among the state's active sites — 106,069 violations, through Oct. 31, 2011.
At $40 per citation, that equates to $4,242,760.
The highest number of citations have been issued at the I-95 intersection with the Beltway and I-895, where 359,544 tickets have been issued since November 2009.
The second-highest is at Liberty Road and the Beltway, where 181,728 citations have been recorded since June 2010, according to the data on the SHA website.
Brochin said the SHA asked for the cameras to be allowed as a means to protect workers, but he said keeping the cameras at locations where work isn't being done is unfair to citizens, and leaves active work sites less safe.
"There's no safety issue (at Charles Street)," Brochin said. "Move the cameras to an active work site."
On Dec. 8, the SHA announced another highway speed camera will be activated on the Baltimore Beltway, on the outer loop near the Frederick Road interchange, beginning on Jan. 3.
The camera near Frederick Road — a location that Brochin said he suggested could use a camera instead of Charles Street— will be the fourth work zone in Baltimore County with speed cameras.
Last year, Brochin introduced a bill that would limit the use of speed cameras in construction zones to times when workers are actually present, but the SHA offered a compromise that included a provision to evaluate work zones, and ensure that no speed camera use would occur after construction activities cease that warrant safety concerns.
Recycling mandate for apartments
Meanwhile, Del. Stephen Lafferty, also of the 42nd District, has pre-filed a bill that requires apartment complexes statewide to provide recycling services. It's a measure he and Brochin championed last year, and hope to pass this time around.
"A lot of people who are in apartments now who want to recycle don't have the option to do so," said Lafferty, a Democrat.
Last year, the same bill passed in the House of Delegates, but didn't make it through the Senate before the session ended.
State Sen. Jim Brochin, a Democrat who represents Towson in the 42nd District, said he'll offer a measure to more clearly define the use of State Highway Administration speed cameras — and crusade against what he calls an unnecessary use of the cameras in work zones when crews are not present.
"The whole intent of speed cameras on highways was for worker safety, but if you take a look at September, October, November, there's nobody working there," Brochin said. "There were people working on a bridge 200 feet above (traffic) … and that white SUV sits there snapping pictures and nabbing people.
"There's nothing stopping them from keeping those cameras there for the next five years, even if the construction is complete," he said.
SHA speed cameras are set to issue citations fining car owners when the vehicle exceeds the speed limit by 12 miles per hour or more in work zones.
The camera at the Charles Street work zone has been in operation since November 2009 and, according to figures on the SHA website, that location has seen the third-highest number of speed camera-recorded violations among the state's active sites — 106,069 violations, through Oct. 31, 2011.
At $40 per citation, that equates to $4,242,760.
The highest number of citations have been issued at the I-95 intersection with the Beltway and I-895, where 359,544 tickets have been issued since November 2009.
The second-highest is at Liberty Road and the Beltway, where 181,728 citations have been recorded since June 2010, according to the data on the SHA website.
Brochin said the SHA asked for the cameras to be allowed as a means to protect workers, but he said keeping the cameras at locations where work isn't being done is unfair to citizens, and leaves active work sites less safe.
"There's no safety issue (at Charles Street)," Brochin said. "Move the cameras to an active work site."
On Dec. 8, the SHA announced another highway speed camera will be activated on the Baltimore Beltway, on the outer loop near the Frederick Road interchange, beginning on Jan. 3.
The camera near Frederick Road — a location that Brochin said he suggested could use a camera instead of Charles Street— will be the fourth work zone in Baltimore County with speed cameras.
Last year, Brochin introduced a bill that would limit the use of speed cameras in construction zones to times when workers are actually present, but the SHA offered a compromise that included a provision to evaluate work zones, and ensure that no speed camera use would occur after construction activities cease that warrant safety concerns.
Recycling mandate for apartments
Meanwhile, Del. Stephen Lafferty, also of the 42nd District, has pre-filed a bill that requires apartment complexes statewide to provide recycling services. It's a measure he and Brochin championed last year, and hope to pass this time around.
"A lot of people who are in apartments now who want to recycle don't have the option to do so," said Lafferty, a Democrat.
Last year, the same bill passed in the House of Delegates, but didn't make it through the Senate before the session ended.
