-----Original Message-----

From: Joan Stark [mailto:jstark@sha.state.md.us] On Behalf Of SHA Admin

Sent: Wednesday, April 12, 2006 3:26 PM

To: Tom Kelly

Cc: Dave Coyne; Susan Hose

Subject: RE: MD 140 in Emmitsburg, from center of town west to the PA line

Dear Mr. Kelly,

Mr. Coyne's email address is dcoyne@sha.state.md.us.

Joan B. Stark

-----Original Message-----

From: Tom Kelly [mailto:Tom.Kelly@psec.net]

Sent: Wednesday, April 12, 2006 11:30 AM

To: SHA Admin

Subject: RE: MD 140 in Emmitsburg, from center of town west to the PA

line

Thank you very much. I look forward to hearing from them soon. Can I get the email address for Mr. Coyne? Thomas M. Kelly -----Original Message-----

From: Joan Stark [mailto:jstark@sha.state.md.us]On Behalf Of SHA Admin

Sent: Wednesday, April 12, 2006 9:04 AM

To: Tom Kelly

Cc: Dave Coyne; Susan Hose

Subject: RE: MD 140 in Emmitsburg, from center of town west to the PA

line

Dear Mr. Kelly,

Thank you for your email. I apologize for the delay. I am forwarding your concerns to Mr. Dave Coyne, our District Engineer for the Emmitsburg area, so that an appropriate member of his staff can respond as soon as possible. Joan B. Stark Assistant Correspondence Manager

-----Original Message-----

From: Tom Kelly [mailto:Tom.Kelly@psec.net]

Sent: Tuesday, April 11, 2006 1:57 PM

To: SHA Admin

Subject: FW: MD 140 in Emmitsburg, from center of town west to the PA

line

To whom it may concern

No response as of yet. Can you point me in the direction of someone who can assist me or the next action I should take? Patiently waiting, Thomas M. Kelly Branch Manager Power Systems Electric 301-279-6777

-----Original Message-----

From: Tom Kelly

Sent: Wednesday, April 05, 2006 11:25 AM

To: 'shaadmin@sha.state.md.us'

Subject: MD 140 in Emmitsburg, from center of town west to the PA

line

To whom it may concern

My name is Thomas Kelly. Currently I live at 9351 Waynesboro Pike (Rt. 140), Emmitsburg, MD. The speed limit in front of my home is currently 50 miles per hour (5 miles per hour under US Route 15). My concern is for the safety of my children and my neighbors and their children. The average distance from the edge of the road to the front of the homes along this section of Rt. 140 is approximately 35'. In my opinion (and my neighbors) the speed limit should be no more than 35 miles per hour. The road is constantly (night and day) traveled by tractor trailers at speeds that will make anyone cringe should they be near the road. Since moving to this location in June of last year, I have never seen speed enforcement. I have spoken to the mayor of Emmitsburg and he has advised me that there is nothing he can do (we are outside of the township limits). I have amassed 100 signatures (from the people who live in this area) in a petition to have the state address this situation. Below is the letter that I sent to mayor Hoover, again with an "oh well" sort of attitude. I do not, nor will I ever succumb to this mentality and will take my issue to whomever need be for resolution. Please direct me in this matter. Thomas M. Kelly Branch Manager Power Systems Electric 301-279-6777

Letter to Mayor Hoover September 24th, 2005 @ 6:06am

----- Original Message -----

From: "Thomas Kelly" <tmkelly744@adelphia.net>

To: <mayorhoover@emmitsburgmd.gov>

Sent: Saturday, September 24, 2005 6:06 AM

Subject: Route 140 speed limit between the Pennsylvania line and

the Emit

House

> Dear Mayor Hoover,

> My name is Tom Kelly. In May of this year my wife and I became proud

> residents of the town of Emmitsburg. We purchased a lovely little Cape

> Cod just outside of town on state route 140 (cleverly disguised to us as

> Waynesboro Pike). We came up to see the house on a Sunday morning and

> thought it was an absolutely wonderful house and an absolutely wonderful

> area to raise our two children........BIG MISTAKE. Now that

I have lived

> on this major road for approximately 4 months and speaking to my neighbors

> (of whom most have been here all of their lives), I have realized that the

> constant tractor trailer traffic going approximately 65 miles per hour,

> only 30 feet out my front door is of no concern of the state's, the county's

> nor the town's and has come to be accepted as " just the way it is" and

> "wait 'till winter gets here, you won't be able to get out of your

> driveway due to all of the ski traffic" and "the police only come out here

> when school starts." Hearing these type of statements from people who have

> seen this town grow and change over the years made me realize that this

> part of town is most likely the forgotten part.

> We live in an area that has 22 homes (that I counted) that are old street

> focused homes (houses that are close to the street, which was once

> the main area of interaction and commerce). These homes range from approximately 20' to

> 137' off of the road's hard surface. The speed limit is 50 miles per hour,

> although, I have intentionally driven down this road from PA to my house at 50 miles per hour

> and trust me the people DO NOT prefer to drive the 50MPH, they would much

> rather drive faster (I have to admit, they were quite upset with me). The

> tractor trailer traffic on state route 140 is unrelenting. They travel

> all through the night (it was actually 3:17am when I started this email

> and thus far I have counted 31 tractor trailers....Jake Brakes make

> wonderful sounds in the middle of the night, don't you agree?) at speeds

> above 50 miles per hour. The speed limit changes to 40MPH at Tract Road

> as you head into town and then to 25 MPH when you get to the Emmithouse.

> The 25 MPH is what one would expect inside the town limits. 50 MPH is not

> what you would expect in a residential area. I noticed that on South

> Seton Avenue (according to the mayor also a state road), the speed limit does not exceed 40 MPH...even when the

> concentration of houses is less than where I live, and the distance from

> the road is greater.....go figure. I have also noticed that state route

> 355 through Frederick is laid out better than Route 140. 355 at least drops

> to 35 MPH in residential areas and then jumps to 50 MPH when the housing

> density is less (if you drive through Urbana, you'll see what I mean). I

> have started a petition to show the support for the suggestions below and

> will forward it to your office.

> What the residents in this part of the community would like to see happen

> to help improve the quality of life at this side of town is no tractor

> trailer traffic allowed between 10:00pm and 5:00am accompanied by a

> reduction in the speed limit from Tract Road to the PA state line from 50

> MPH to 35 MPH. The children, pets and people in this part of the

> community as well as Emmitsburg as a whole will be better off.

> Please contact me. I need your help in this manner and would like to make

> sure that I send my concerns to the proper municipal, county and state

> representatives. I will wait to hear from you for 3 days, at that point I

> will forward my concern to the county commissioners and Governor Erlich.

> I sincerely look forward to working with you on this matter. Thank you

> for your time.

> Thomas M. Kelly

SHA Response 04/21/06

Dear Mr. Kelly:

Thank you for your email regarding traffic operations along MD 140 west of Emmitsburg in Frederick County. The State Highway Administration (SHA) appreciates your interest in traffic control and safety.

Setting safe and realistic speed limits along State roadways is a concern everyone shares. The SHA and other agencies have performed studies to determine the criteria for establishing realistic speed limits. Results of these studies have shown that to keep accidents to a minimum, maintain efficient traffic flow, and attain a high level of compliance, speed limits should be set at or near the 85th percentile level. This is determined by collecting data from spot speed studies and computing the speed at or below which 85 percent of the traffic is traveling. This is the speed that motorists feel most comfortable in navigating the road. We have found that when speed limits are set below the 85th percentile speed, motorists continue to drive at the 85th percentile speed and disregard the lower posted speed limit.

The SHA has conducted speed studies in this area as part of a recent review at the intersection of MD 140 and Tract Road. The results of these studies indicate that the 85th percentile speed is 53 MPH for eastbound traffic and 51 MPH for westbound traffic. The results revealed that the existing speed limit is reasonable and realistic. Based upon this information, we believe that lowering the speed limit would create a speed zone that would be disrespected by motorists and difficult to enforce. Additional information which further explains how speed limits are determined is available at http://www.marylandroads.com/safety/oots/trafficsignalsandlaws/speedlimits.asp.

With regard to truck traffic on MD 140, the SHA cannot restrict trucks from using this route. MD 140 is the primary connecting route between Maryland and Pennsylvania in northwest Frederick County, and is designed to accommodate this type of traffic.

Thank you, again, for your interest in this matter. If you have any questions or need additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me at 301-624-8145, toll free 800-635-5119, or via email at astitt1@sha.state.md.us.

Sincerely,

April Stitt

Transportation Engineer

District 7 - Traffic

Maryland State Highway Administration

5111 Buckeystown Pike

Frederick MD 21704