Public encouraged to report signal problems.
A Middletown man's frustration with the signal light for the left turn from eastbound US 40 to McCain Drive, is the reason why it's now working.
In a July 6 letter to the editor in The Frederick News-Post, Tom Newell, of Middletown, described problems with the signal light. He wrote that the signal sometimes did not recognize vehicles waiting to make the left turn, and, at other times, only let a few vehicles turn per cycle, despite long lines in the left turn lane. The letter also went on to say that this was leading some frustrated drivers to make the risky decision to pull back into the through lanes on US 40 to go straight through the intersection. "We sent someone out to take a look at it," said SHA spokeswoman Heather Keels. "We found out that it was, at sometimes, occurring. Right away, we made a temporary adjustment, to make sure that green left turn arrow was included in every cycle, until we were able to get out there and do some more testing. Then a week later, we were able to make an adjustment to the sensitivity of the signal's vehicle detection device, putting it back on the right setting," continued Keels.
The public is encouraged to report signal problems and other issues on the SHA website. "What you want to do is go to www.roads.maryland.gov, and you will see a button that says contact us. It will take you to a page where you can submit for non-emergency issues. You can even request for follow-up response, if you want us to get back to you, and let you know what we found out," Keels said.
Customers in Frederick may also call SHA's District 7 office at 301-624-8100, or toll free at 800-635-5119.
