(4/25) The Planning and Zoning Commission, at the behest of the Town Council, discussed street widths (curb to curb) and whether to change the Town’s current Code. These changes would only affect future developments, not existing roads.
The Town’s current Code outlines the minimum widths to 20 feet for residential lanes that see less than 200 trips a day and secondary residential streets that see less than 400 trips. Primary residences that see less than 1,500 trips a day have a minimum of 25 feet and Minor Collector roads that see less than 2,000 trips are to be determined by the Planning commission during the review process. It should be noted that 20 feet is considered the minimum width for emergency vehicle access, however it should be an ‘unobstructed roadway’ meaning cars parking on the sides would count as obstructions.
Town Planner Kelly Duty dug through layers of research to find information regarding recommendations and statistics. "A very important perspective on street widths [come from] those charged with maintaining the roads as well as our emergency responders," pointed out Duty. She said the Town's Streets and Park department recommends 32 feet to allow for maneuvering of snowplows and large equipment and allow on street parking at the same time. Thurmont’s police department pointed out that a 32-foot street is similar to other streets in Town, however they acknowledged that a wider street correlates with increased speeding. The fire department didn't suggest a minimum street width but did say a narrow street makes it more difficult to maneuver their large equipment when responding to emergency calls.
The concern with increasing the minimum street width is the increase of speeding that will accompany it. "The wider the streets, people tend to go faster," said Duty. One AAA study found a correlation between wider streets and increases in pedestrian injuries.
According to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) streets between 22 to 26 feet provide adequate width without sacrificing room for emergency vehicles, impacting environmental areas or creating financial restraints.
For example, Orchard Street is 23.9 feet, Hammaker Hills is 24 feet and Lombard is 33 feet. Commissioner Liaison Marty Burns said, "There’s parking on both sides [of Orchard] and when I drive my truck, I’m like ‘I hope I don’t nail a mirror’". Member Grant Johnson described growing up on Lombard, ‘There’s parking on both sides and I’ve never had an issue growing up there," he said. "It’s safe."
The Commission discussed the merit of limiting parking to one side of certain roads and eliminating parking overall on others, giving them more width for passing cars, however Chief Administrative Officer Jim Humerick suggested avoiding this restriction as it would be challenging for the residents.
Residents at the meeting encouraged the Commission to increase the width of the streets because of larger vehicles and more cars per household requiring more parking. The Commission decided to push a decision to May to give them time to review all the information discussed.
