Queen Anne's County task force backs bill letting small towns lower speed limits without engineering study

Josh Mass, an intern speaking for Delegate Steven Ahrens, and Theresa Hagerstrom for the Queenstown Speeding and Street Safety Task Force urged the committee to approve House Bill 12-36, which would allow Queen Anne's County municipalities to set maximum speed limits as low as 15 mph on highways under their jurisdiction without performing an engineering and traffic investigation.

Hagerstrom recounted local traffic-calming efforts—zebra crosswalks, painted center lines, electronic speed indicators—after a speeding driver crashed into a town office. She told the committee that Queenstown's town center sits on two state highways and contains narrow lanes, sharp curves and pedestrian amenities such as a post office and volunteer fire station. Hagerstrom argued that the state's 25-mph minimum is too high for the town center and that the bill would let small municipalities adapt speed limits to local conditions when budgets preclude formal traffic studies.

Vice Chair Regina Boyce and other committee members asked whether the municipality had a complete-streets plan or prior engineering studies; Hagerstrom said a study request was delayed for budgetary reasons and that the town lacks state priority for such work. Delegate Ahrens' office emphasized the bill was intended to provide smaller municipalities equitable authority comparable to Baltimore City's existing authority to reduce posted limits without additional studies.

No committee vote was recorded that day; sponsors said they will coordinate with the State Highway Administration and county officials on implementation.