The trip from my house to the Beltway follows several major roads. Route 1 has narrow lanes, no median, and buildings close to the street, while others like Ritz Way sport generous medians and huge “clear zones” at the sides. However, the speed limits bear no relationship to the design of the roads. To the contrary, the high limits on Route 1 encourage dangerous speeding, while Ritz Way has such a low limit that police regularly ticket drivers.

Route 1 is four lanes wide between Ritz Way and Contee Road, the southern border of the town of Laurel. Only a double yellow line separates traffic in each direction. There is also a transit station on this route, Muirkirk MARC, though it does not generate much pedestrian traffic). The speed limit on Route 1 is 50 mph.

In Beltsville and Laurel along Route 1, there is a great deal of cross traffic, curb cuts, building frontage, and pedestrian traffic. There is a soft median separating traffic flow, which allows left turning vehicles to turn across traffic. The speed limit there is 40mph.

The other half of the route follows a newer road that was redesigned a couple years ago to increase vehicular access from Route 1 to I-95. It changes names several times, from Ritz Way to Virginia Manor Road, Ammendale Road, and Powder Mill Road. For simplicity’s sake, let’s call it Ritz Way. This route is 4-6 lanes wide with a wide grassy median along the entire stretch between US-1 and I-95. Most of the buildings along the route are office parks with no direct frontage to the street. Yet the speed limit is 35 mph. On one stretch, it drops to 30.

Freeway-like Ammendale Road. See a map of the entire route.

Police often run a speed trap atop a hill along the route. The road’s design uses freeway geometries and a wide-open feel. I-95 has a speed limit of 65 mph, but when drivers exit, they find themselves on a road with similar geometry at half the speed limit.

Meanwhile, the higher speed limit on Route 1 makes driving in heavier volumes a harrowing experience, particularly with left turning traffic at arbitrary points between blocks. On the stretch between Laurel and Beltsville where there is no median, traveling at high speeds is even more dangerous. Perhaps lowering the speed limit on these stretches could even help control congestion like the Wilson Bridge construction project.

Traffic laws ought to embrace uniformity. Along these two stretches, just the opposite occurs, and without crossing any municipal boundaries. Freeway speeds should go with freeway geometries and road design, and boulevard designs should have the slower speed limits. Without a congruent relationship between the form and function of our roads, roads will only be more confusing and thus less safe.