Wasteful spending has been discovered within Baltimore County's Traffic Calming Unit, according to a recent report from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG). The unit, tasked with administering the Neighborhood Traffic Management Program, was found to have improperly spent over $125,000 on traffic devices and crosswalks installed in incorrect locations. This error includes two crosswalks, one of which was originally set up away from an intended elementary school on Compass Road and needed to be repositioned, costing upwards of $20,000.
An additional misstep involved installing a raised crosswalk on Kenwood Avenue, which was not just placed incorrectly but also on a road that falls under state jurisdiction. The removal of this misplaced crosswalk has tacked on another $27,000 to the wasteful total. Fox Baltimore reported these findings obtained through the OIG's latest investigation, revealing that the Traffic Calming Unit's oversight had resulted in significant financial losses for the county.
Misplaced speed bumps compounded the financial fallout even further, with an excess of $77,500 spent on traffic calming measures on disqualifying roads. The OIG also emphasized a breach in protocol concerning the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Inspector General Kelly Madigan was quoted in the Fox Baltimore report stating that the neighborhood traffic initiatives failed to consistently comply with ADA standards.
Making matters more contentious was a county employee tied to the program. They apparently authorized installations on a road where this individual and their family held property interests, forcing us again to question the integrity of the unit's operations. This aspect of the scandal, detailed in a report by WBALTV, adds a layer of ethical misjudgment to the already troubling misallocation of funds.
