OCEAN CITY, Md. -- Maryland's State Highway Administration has added Coastal Highway to its Pedestrian Safety Action Plan. The road was seen as one of the main areas on the Eastern Shore in need of safety improvements.
According to SHA, Coastal Highway(MD 528) sees between 24,000 to 42,000 vehicles every single day. All of those cars drive right by a countless number of vacationers and Ocean City locals.
Crossing the stretch of road, especially with all of the marked crosswalks seems like it should be an easy task. You push a button and wait until a sign gives you the 'okay'. Unfortunately, it's not always the simple, and Ocean City isn't alone.
"Statewide last year we had 96 fatalities that were pedestrians and it's really tragic happening across the state," said William Pines, SHA Administrator. "So we looked at all of the key corridors that need those improvements and Coastal Highway stood out on the Eastern Shore."
In the past decade there have been 298 reported crashes on Coastal Highway, Baltimore Avenue and Philadelphia Avenue where a pedestrian was involved. It's led to 303 injuries and 7 deaths.
Now, those numbers have dwindled in the past few years with the help of fences and signage that encourage walkers to use crosswalks.
"We think the fence in the median was very effective and we'd love to see that continued, I think we also believe the lighting in the median is very effective," said City Manager Terry McGean.
The state wants to do more though, hence its addition of Coastal Highway to the PSAP. Part of the plan will be education.
"We really wants folks to know to use those push buttons, make sure you are operating safely as a pedestrian but also as a motorist," said Pines. "Make sure you're not texting and driving, drunk driving, all of the key things that drive up those fatal numbers, we really need to get them down."
Changes to crosswalk timing and additional signage are also possibilities.
"There's things like leading pedestrian intervals where you change the signal timing, that actually gives priority to pedestrians to make sure that they're safe when crossing," said Pines.
While talks are not expected to ramp up until early 2025, McGean said the town is eager to get started.
"We can always improve safety, anywhere, and obviously you know when you have a highway that is that wide with that many pedestrians on it you want to do everything you can to make sure it's safe and safer," said McGean.
