SALISBURY, Md. -- The city began installing rumble strips along Camden Avenue on Thursday, May 25th. The hope is it will slow down traffic, but neighbors said it has come at a very loud cost.
As drivers make their way to the intersection of Camden Avenue and South Boulevard, they will probably notice a few modifications. One is a new four-way stop, the other, rumble strips. Neighbors we spoke with say they have certainly noticed the rumble strips and so far, it hasn't been a change for the better.
"They need to take them away," said Kevin Siers.
Siers, who lives right near one of the newly installed rows of rumble strips, said they are not appropriate for the area.
"It's much too loud for a residential neighborhood, it's very disturbing," said Siers.
While the strips have only been on the road for about a day, Siers questioned their effectiveness up until this point and for the future.
"I'm not sure if it's slowing up traffic too much, that's an open question, what the purpose of it actually is," said Siers.
Another point made by neighbors was a lack of notice.
"We didn't know they were coming, we didn't expect them, they're really loud, the house vibrates when you're inside and something drives by," said Maida Finch.
Finch, who also lives right off Camden Avenue, said the new additions have turned into an unwanted alarm clock.
"It woke me up this morning when somebody drove over them so yeah, we're not real happy with them," said Finch.
Both Finch and Siers said they were appreciative of the city exploring solutions for the intersection, which they said has seen its fair share of accidents. They just don't believe rumble strips are the answer.
Finch said a possible solution could be changing the traffic light, which blinks yellow, to a blinking red four-way stop.
"If they can't or won't fix the light, restore it to how it was orginially, then I think it should be a four-way stop, but the visibility is tough so they need to address that concern as well," said Finch.
The city ended up doing just that, sending out a press release late on Friday afternoon. The traffic lights will switch from blinking yellow to blinking red, signaling a four-way stop. Temporary stop signs will be installed and permanent stop signs are expected to be up within the next two weeks.
Finch also said Councilmember Megan Outten told her to attend the next council meeting on June 5th and that Outten expects the rumble strips to be discussed then.