Olszewski Announces Legislation to Reduce Truck Traffic in Residential Communities

Baltimore County Executive Olszewski today announced plans to introduce legislation to reduce the high volume of commercial truck traffic on residential roads in southeastern and southwestern Baltimore County.

The legislation is based on the recommendations of County’s Residential Truck Traffic Work Group, which released its final report last month.

“This new legislation equips Baltimore County to address longstanding community concerns about truck traffic on local roads and will help improve the quality of life in our neighborhoods in the process,” Olszewski said. “The bill is possible because of our truck traffic work group, whose hard work has helped inform our efforts to support County residents on this issue.”

The proposed legislation would authorize the use of vehicle height monitoring systems to redirect large commercial vehicles and help enforce restrictions on residential roads. Consistent with the work group’s recommendations, the bill also limits the County to operating no more than seven cameras at a single time.

Vehicle height monitoring camera systems detect vehicles in violation of local restrictions on specific residential roadways.

Baltimore City’s existing Commercial Vehicle Height Monitoring System Camera Program has proven effective in changing vehicle operator behavior to redirect vehicles from restricted residential roadways.

In accordance with the state legislation, the County formed the Residential Truck Traffic Work Group in September 2020 to make recommendations to address these long-standing community concerns.

“For more than a year, a broad cross-section of stakeholders has worked together to review issues surrounding trucks traveling in residential areas,” said Louis Campion, President & CEO of the Maryland Motor Truck Association and member of the Baltimore County Residential Truck Traffic Work Group. “Maryland Motor Truck Association believes the recommendations of the Baltimore County Residential Truck Traffic Work Group, including the introduction of this legislation, offer a fair and balanced approach to ensure illegal traffic is enforced while also protecting access for trucks making legal deliveries in neighborhoods.”

The proposed legislation will be introduced at the County Council meeting on Monday, October 18.