OCEAN CITY, Md. – Neighbors and visitors who spoke to WBOC on Monday expressed their hope for more to be done to prevent future pedestrian accidents in Ocean City.
This comes after a pedestrian was killed after being hit by a car while crossing Coastal Hwy in Ocean City near 59 St., late Friday. The incident was just one of many pedestrian accidents that have occurred in Ocean City during this summer alone.
Some people say it's an issue of careless jaywalking, while others blame reckless driving. However, they all agree that Ocean City and its law enforcement can do more to control both issues.
“People should mainly not be jaywalking,” says Hillary Wand, who owns a home in Ocean City. “They used to have signs all over the marquees, saying specifically not to jaywalk, but people don’t listen.”
Selah Alington, who was visiting Ocean City from New York on Monday, observed more aggressive driving.
“We saw a car driving in the bike lane,” Alington says. “Stuff like that is just like, wow, to me. You would think there'd be more cops out here. I think they need to come together and have a staff meeting or something and get that together ASAP."
Both Wand and Alington had their own ideas for ways to prevent accidents, including having a greater police presence on the Hwy and adding additional median fencing to blocks and intersections.
We reached out to the Ocean City Police Department, and they referred us to their “Walk Smart Campaign”, which “focuses on helping residents and visitors reach the beach safely and stay safe while in Ocean City”. The campaign began in 2013 after an influx of pedestrian accidents in 2012.
In addition to providing details about the campaign, the OCPD said that outside of regular patrol duty times, full-time police officers can sign up for overtime details that are grant funded by the Maryland Highway Safety Office.
Their overall goal is educating residents and visitors, and say it’s important for them to follow the safest practices when in Ocean City.