Harford County Council passes bill allowing for vehicle height monitoring cameras
The Harford County Council approved a bill Tuesday allowing installation of six vehicle height monitoring cameras to limit commercial truck driving on rural county roads.
Council President Patrick Vincenti and council members Tony Giordano, Aaron Penman, Dion Guthrie, James Reilly and Jacob Bennett voted to approve the legislation; council member Jessica Boyle-Tsottles was absent.
The county does not have any vehicle height monitoring cameras yet in place.
“We get the videos and the photos emailed to us all the time showing examples of these trucks on roads where they cannot go on, causing the community hazard,” Bennett, a Democrat who represents District F, said at a March 12 public hearing.
The videos the council member cited come largely from residents on Perryman Peninsula. On social media, the community group Protect Perryman Peninsula has been documenting illegal commercial truck driving on neighborhood roads that they say cause unnecessary traffic and overwhelm local infrastructure.
“There’s a lot of critical issues, both environmental and infrastructure, that we’ve been experiencing largely from the over-industrialization of the peninsula,” Protect Perryman Peninsula representative Leigh Maddox said at the March 12 public hearing.
“We went decades from being ignored and exploited and this support from our elected officials means a whole lot,” Maddox said.
The proposed local legislation comes after a state bill sponsored by then-Sen. Bob Cassilly, currently the Harford County Executive, passed in 2022. That bill authorized the use of vehicle height monitoring systems in the county.
A workgroup first met in September to determine the six locations for installations. They include:
- Old Joppa Road between Mountain Road and Bel Air Road
- Prospect Mill Road between Churchville Road and Fountain Green Road
- Hookers Mill Road between Abingdon Road and Cavalry Road
- Spesutia Road between Perryman Road and U.S. Route 40
- Old Stepney Road between Spesutia Road and Route 40
- Mitchell Lane between Spesutia Road and Route 40
According to Bennett, the locations were identified by mapping where most complaints about unauthorized vehicles were happening, as well as where police officers ticketed violations. The workgroup recommended all height monitoring cameras should be set 12 feet from the ground to capture commercial trucks and tractor trailers.
According to the legislation, vehicles exempt from penalties include school buses, public transportation vehicles, emergency vehicles, government vehicles, moving company vehicles, septic service trucks, tree service trucks, trash and recycling trucks, and package delivery vehicles.
First-time violators will get a warning. The county will be able to charge fines up to $250 for a second violation and $500 for a third violation.
According to the legislation’s fiscal analysis, the monitoring systems’ equipment can be leased. The cost for the lease plus administrative costs is about $4,000 for each camera per month.
The new height monitoring legislation will take effect 60 calendar days after the county executive signs it into law.