Business owners and council members raise safety and access concerns about Charles Street redesign

Hugh Mitchell, a property owner at 205 East Charles Street, urged the La Plata Town Council on March 24 to press the state to adjust its planned Charles Street redesign, saying the current plan would put a raised sidewalk and a center island in front of his businesses and could restrict emergency vehicles.

Mitchell told the council that the design "there hasn't been a traffic survey or study of any kind done recently, on that stretch of Charles Street" and warned the plan would eliminate a lane in front of the church and several parking and loading options used by local businesses.

Stepping into the discussion later, Councilman Guttenberg said the corridor has been the subject of recent county analysis. He cited a 2023 county study that used 2017–2021 crash data, saying the stretch is in the county's high-accident network and that "there were, 23 either killed or seriously injured accident results along that stretch." Guttenberg said the safety concerns are the genesis of the state's project, but acknowledged that business access and emergency-vehicle clearance are urgent community concerns that need local negotiation with project managers.

The council and staff encouraged direct engagement between affected business owners, emergency responders and the state's engineering team to seek compromise. Town staff did not adopt a formal position during public comment; they said they would try to facilitate further conversation between the community and the state's project manager.

Why it matters: The corridor connects La Plata's downtown; safety improvements can reduce severe crashes but may also affect traffic flow, parking and business operations. Council members said they want to balance pedestrian and vehicle safety with the needs of local merchants and first responders.

The council moved on to the next agenda item after hearing public comment; no formal vote on the state design was taken at the meeting.