About 6 months ago we reported on the newly installed speed cameras that many of us are used to seeing all over the county. Captain John Damskey explains the policies and benefits of the speed cameras and states his case for why he thinks we really do need them. Followed by questions from Council members.

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Unfortunately I don’t have as much time as I would like to keep this site updated with unique articles. In order to get my loyal readers the information you crave, I’ve decided to start a “Local Links” series. These posts will consist of links to other great local sites and sometimes a bit of opinion in there as well.

If you would like to contribute to the site in anyway we’d greatly appreciate it. Feel free to send us your opinion, story, or argument via the Contact/Tips page or you can contact us via email at contribute@gaithersburglocal.com

Stay up-to-date with development and planning in Montgomery County. MontgomeryPlanning.org recently released their new webtool, Design Montgomery. The tool allows you get an in depth look at development in the area, and gives you the opportunity to voice your opinion on just about everything.

Quince Orchard Knolls likely to get sidewalks. The Gazette reports that the Knolls neighborhood in North Potomac is likely to get the proposed sidewalks that have been in debate since 2006. Those opposed to the sidewalks, don’t want to lose the 8ft or so of parking space, but it looks like the sidewalks may finally happen.

Speed Camera Class-Action Suit. “A county Circuit Court judge has allowed attorneys to pursue a class-action lawsuit against the county and other local municipalities for allegedly violating state law by allowing the speed camera contractor to collect per-ticket fees.” – The Gazette

This is something we covered earlier in our post about speed cameras in Maryland.

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On Tuesday, due to the Inauguration, I was terrified of driving the Beltway, so I opted to take the back roads. Down Quince Orchard Rd, past the high school, through North Potomac, then Potomac. I took a more scenic route home. The areas surrounding Darnestown Rd, River Rd, Turkeyfoot Rd, etc.

Luckily I’m a fairly cautious driver and was hovering around the speed limit, because the number of speed cameras in this area must have doubled in the last couple months alone. I’m all for safety, but the speed cameras in the area are ridiculous.

It’s one thing to have them in high trafficked areas, like the one just North of Midcounty Highway and Route 124, for the safety of drivers and pedestrians. But I have to say OVERKILL when you put 5+ cameras within a 15 mile radius, where there are very few vehicles and even fewer pedestrians.

When I started seeing “SCAM” written in chalk just before the speed cameras, I knew I wasn’t the only one.

Why the speed cameras?

I think it is naive to believe that the state, county, or whoever is in charge is doing this out of concern for its citizens. This is an easy source of money for the government, and it is in their best interest to put up as many of these speed cameras as possible.

What’s worse is that the company that owns and operates these cameras is getting paid a commission for every ticket issued. This gives them a lot of motive to increase the ticket rate by making cameras hard to see, and other means of increasing the ticketing rate.

It is in the best interest of the state/county and the agency that owns the cameras to install as many cameras as possible, so they can make more money.

Upon Further Research…

I discovered that I’m far from the only person upset with these cameras. In fact there are numerous blogs dedicated to getting these speed cameras removed or to improve the legislation surrounding them.

Other sources:

• Stop Big Brother Maryland
• DC Camera Fraud
  • Maryland – Best source of information and ways to help.
• Maryland and DC Speed Camera Map (embeded below) – Extremely valuable resource. Check this out before driving the back roads!

What you can do (source):

Join the cause, write a representative, fight the ticket, or avoid getting a ticket all together. DC Camera Fraud can put it into words better than I can.

Update: 1/29/2009

The Washington Post reports that the camera on the 900 block of Quince Orchard Road has been activated.

However, I drove by this afternoon and saw no signs of the cameras. Either they aren’t up yet or they’ve gotten really good at hiding the cameras.

I’ll try to report in tomorrow to confirm.
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