4/18/2007

Stop sign suggests a double take
By Don Klein

There is a new road sign in town and it should have motorists doing a double take. If it does, it will be doing its job. The surprise is, it comes is two parts.

The sign is implanted at the intersection of routes 50 and 610 a few miles west of West Ocean City. The upper part is a standard red octagonal STOP sign. Below it is a yellow square sign saying LOOK AGAIN.

The State Highway Administration put it up in hopes of preventing mishaps at one of the most accident-prone locations. It is the only such double sign in north Worcester County, according to Gene Cofiell, assistant district engineer for traffic in this area.

"People were taking one look and going through the intersection," Mr. Cofiell said, and that is dangerous because the angle of the crossing can make oncoming westbound traffic on Route 50 hard to see. "Now we hope they will take a careful second look before proceeding," he added.

The location of the sign is on the side of the road visible only to eastbound Route 50 traffic when it turns left to northbound 610. "There have been a number of accidents there in the past," he said.

The only other places with similar signs in Worcester County are on the Snow Hill bypass where Route 113 crosses Routes 12 and 365. There the look again sign is attached to yield signs, not stop signs.

Maryland is divided into seven highway districts and safety engineers from these regions meet every two months to discuss problems. It was there that the double sign concept was born. "It had been used elsewhere in the state with much success," Mr. Cofiell reported.
Highway engineers get statewide accident reports from the Maryland State Police which compiles accident figures from all police jurisdictions in the state. From those statistics it is easy to determine traffic trouble spots, the engineer said.

The police reports tell engineers the kind of accident that occurred, when it happened, identifies the day of the week and the time of day and season of the mishap. This helps engineers to decide on needed remedies.

The route 50 and 610 sign was planted in February because that cross road was considered to be a dangerous one. In the two months since, it seems to have worked. "I don't think there were any serious accidents since the sign was installed," Mr. Cofiell claimed.

A different safety system will be installed at another location not too far away on Route 50 in late summer or early fall. This will be a flashing light at the intersection with Route 354. It will warn drivers to be cautious; a yellow flasher will face Route 50 motorists and a red flasher Route 354 drivers.

Another change will take place in Ocean City at 131st Street and Coastal Highway. There is a single light to accommodate northbound traffic making a left turn towards JR's Restaurant. This requires southbound Coastal Highway traffic to be halted routinely.

"We are going to see if this turn light is warranted," Mr. Cofiell reported, by installing a flashing light allowing motorists to turn when traffic in the other direction is stopped at a light at 133rd Street.

"We want to see how much cross traffic can be accommodated safely during the normal gaps in traffic," he said.


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