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Mayor Tahnee Stone outlines aggressive bypass push and traffic-safety spending plan for Taneytown
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Summary
In a lengthy state-of-the-municipality address, Mayor Tahnee Stone made securing easements for a southern bypass her administration’s top infrastructure priority and proposed using speed‑camera revenue to fund crossing guards, rapid‑flashing beacons and sidewalk connections to improve neighborhood safety.
Mayor Tahnee Stone used her annual state‑of‑the‑municipality address to prioritize traffic safety and an aggressive effort to secure right‑of‑way easements for a long‑discussed southern bypass. She told council and the audience that the bypass is “not just a talking point. It’s a priority for us,” and said the city will “use every tool available to secure the bypass and protect our neighborhoods and streets.”
Stone proposed forming a traffic alleviation and bypass task force she will chair and asked council for consensus to pause certain development that would worsen bypass‑area traffic until required easements are secured. She said the administration will work with state and county partners and that legal staff has reviewed draft deferral language intended to pressure corridor property owners to coordinate on easements.
The mayor said the city will also act on nearer‑term safety measures while pursuing the bypass. Stone noted the city recently installed a speed camera on Trevanian Road and proposed directing those revenues in FY27 toward “results‑driven safety improvements,” including a foundation impact grant program to help homeowners with foundation damage from heavy truck traffic, rapid‑flashing beacons at crosswalks and sidewalk infill linking neighborhoods such as Windy Hills and Carol Vista. She asked council to fund a second school crossing guard as an immediate step.
City staff later told council the speed‑camera citation rate had peaked in early studies at roughly 200–270 citations per day and is currently about 100 citations per day; councilors cautioned against overestimating future revenue and said FY27 budget assumptions will be conservative. Stone answered that smaller capital items — she cited rapid‑flashing beacons at roughly $3,000 each and a crossing guard cost estimated at about $8,000 annually — could likely be funded from camera proceeds without creating a structural budget gap.
Stone also outlined non‑traffic priorities that overlap with revitalization: consolidating city offices into a single “one‑stop” building, pursuing adaptive reuse of city‑owned Main Street properties (including a potential sit‑down restaurant), creating new green spaces at Carnival Drive and Main Street, and a phased rehabilitation of the Haunted Barn/Creamery into a small community recreation facility. She said the FY27 CIP will include bypass‑related budgeting and these revitalization projects.
Stone closed by announcing a 10‑month charter and code review process with monthly public comment and said proposed charter changes would take effect after the 2027 election to avoid midterm rule changes. She asked for council and resident support to “protect what is uniquely Taneytown.”
What’s next: several draft ordinances and charter resolutions introduced at the workshop (including a bypass development deferral and snow/ice timing changes) will return to council for public hearings and further staff drafting. The administration will bring budget details and cost estimates to the next regular meeting.
