As Memorial Day Weekend came and went, the Town of Oxford had many visitors and an large increase in car traffic. This inspired the question, where is Oxford's Speed Camera?
5/28-We are continuing research on this story including why some Commissioners have flipped on the issue and the real reason the camera has not been installed.
This speed reader at the entrance to Oxford, merely records speeds.
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It was a devastating event for Oxford, Maryland in 2019 when one of its citizens was crossing Oxford Road in the afternoon and was struck and killed by a speeding 18-year-old Dante Kane. The victim was a beloved member of the Oxford community.* Aside from the horrible tragedy for her family and friends, the incident was also a tragedy for the citizens of the town who suddenly realized that having a speed limit posted outside town would not convince drivers to slow down. Pedestrians, including children at the nearby Oxford Kids Camp, were not safe if they crossed Oxford Road at the entrance of town. Or in any other part of town as well.
The Commissioners at the time mulled over solutions to the problem. The current Police Chief at the time, Patrick Maxwel and his staff, often sat at the entrance to the town inducing people to slow down with the threat of warnings or speeding tickets. Unfortunately, the police couldn't be there 24 hours a day and the victim was crossing Oxford Road around 5 p.m.
At various town meetings, there were suggestions. From a July 23, 2019 meeting (taken from minutes): President Graves stated, as a follow up to the recent tragic pedestrian incident, the Commissioners were scheduling a meeting with State Highway officials to discuss traffic calming measures, issues that the town has been seeking help with for many years. All expressed their desire to push State Highway to finally take some measurable action to make it safer for Oxford residents and visitors.
On September 9, 2019, representatives of the State Highway Administration and the Maryland Department of Transportation and elected officials State Senator Addie Eckardt and then State Delegate Johnny Mautz met with the Town Commissioners. Eckardt and Mautz offered their thoughts, their assistance in keeping communications with the state open, and their ability to help with possible legislation regarding speed cameras.
That was almost six years ago. The town currently has a "speed reader" that reads and displays how fast a car is traveling as people come into town. The reader collects speed data. It does not generate infractions or tickets. The speed limit coming into town and out of town has been reduced to 35 mph. There are rumble strips to remind people to slow down.
There is no speed camera.
One might think that Mautz and Eckardt didn't live up to their promise to get legislation for a speed camera. That is wrong. They did work to get legislation passed for Oxford to have a speed sign. Here it is. It was signed in 2023.
The town now has until 2028 to get a speed camera in place at Bonfield Avenue and Oxford Road.
Are speed cameras effective? According to most studies, yes.
Speed cameras can help create a "culture" of minding one's speed in certain areas. If they are paired with directed police enforcement, they are even more effective.
And, of course, they can generate revenue.
The most important reason that most people in Oxford would want a speed camera is because in a town with only two police officers, enforcement of speed limits is not always a priority. An additional danger is that the entrance to town includes a restaurant, the fire station, and the community center which hosts a kid's camp every summer. The camp involves children riding bikes either next to the road or even crossing the road.
And let's not forget. A woman was killed here six years ago by a speeding car. Why did the town advocate for a speed camera and then suddenly drop the idea?
Some residents have been reminding the Commissioners about the need for a speed camera. Will Cawley, a lifetime resident of Oxford, wrote about the issue to Commission President Tom Costigan in April of 2024:
Just for background, Cawley, formerly in the Navy and currently a contractor, has been very vocal in town business. He and his wife Irina have donated plants to hide ugly pump stations and Cawley helped clean up wiring in the town park and around telephone poles in town. They also worked to get three way stop signs at the intersection of Tilghman and Banks Street last year.
The response from Commissioner Costigan was somewhat surprising:
Surprising and alarming. Costigan seems to imply that the speeding problem has been remedied. Many residents will tell you it has not.
Those "traffic monitors" from Kids Camp that Costigan mentions are teenagers outfitted in crossing guard vests carrying stop signs. It's like the school hall monitor but now they are managing real traffic. They stand on the corner of the two streets bordering the kids camp and step out to stop traffic when kids are crossing. It's a valiant effort on the kids' part, but it is not a solution.
Here is where the kids acting as traffic monitors are stationed for kids camp. This is the intersection of Oxford Road and Second Street, right next to the Community Center:
This stretch of road coming into Oxford is the kind of road that allows someone entering the town to pick up, not reduce, speed, especially if there is no deterrent.
The "speed trailer" placed at the entrance to town is an electronic sign that will let drivers know when they are exceeding the speed limit entering town. It doesn't stop or ticket drivers. It's a reminder without any real consequences for breaking the law. However, it does collect speeds from people coming into town. Below is a report showing how many drivers exceed the posted speed entering Oxford. It also shows how much they are over the speed limit:
The data taken from the entrance of town right at what was Antonio's Restaurant from January 1, 2024 to January 1, 2025, tells an interesting story. The total number of cars captured on the speed sign was 223,725. Of those drivers, 25,633 exceeded the posted speed limit by 11 mph or more. That's slightly over 10 percent. Two thousand five hundred and twenty-two exceeded 46 mph. This was with a reduction in speed to 35 mph coming into town, warning signs, and rumble strips. .
No teenage crossing guard can slow those drivers to keep them from hitting a young camp attendee who strays out into the road on their bike.
As for police, even with the consistent police presence the town has as drivers enter and exit the town, it would not be enough because no officer can sit there 24/7. All the more reason for a speed camera.
It will be summer soon. The kid's camp will be starting. More people will be out during the day walking their dogs, running, or just heading to the Conservation Park. Unlike what Commissioner Costigan said in his email, a ticketing system IS a way to keep everyone in Oxford safe from speeders.
Isn't it time for Oxford to get the speed camera that has been approved by the Maryland Legislature? Won't this help our town police so they can focus attention on other areas like the Strand, JL Thompson Drive or South Morris Street where people exceed the speed limit?
The bigger question might be why didn't the town approve the speed camera in 2023? Who squashed the effort after it had been such a huge issue just a few years ago? It seems like this would have been a "no brainer." Who didn't want to ticket speeders? Who were they trying to protect from being ticketed?
Why isn't the safety of pedestrians in Oxford a priority?
These are all valid questions as we head into another Commissioner's election in June.
SPECIAL NOTES: After hearing that Senator Johnny Mautz was "somewhat aggravated" that he had fought for and gotten a speed camera to be approved for Oxford but one had not been placed in Oxford, we contacted his office for comment. As of today, we have not heard from him.
Question about First Responders: After someone raised the question of what happens to first responders who are exceeding the speed limit coming into town. After consultation with law enforcement experts, we have been told that in most cases, local agencies will double check citation notices and remove the names of those who are First Responders if the police can confirm that they were answering a call when cited.
Also, most speed cameras can be set to only ticket at certain speeds over the limit such as 10 to 12 miles over. Locals control the settings of the cameras and the citations.
*We did not use the name of the victim to protect the privacy of her family.
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