The Bel Air Board of Town Commissioners voted 3-2 on Oct. 6 to direct the town administrator to resume the previously approved installation of a speed hump on the 500 block of East Broadway, concluding more than two years of study and public debate.

Residents and staff testified that the block had been studied and advanced through the town's Neighborhood Traffic Management Program (NTMP), that engineering markers and funding were included in the July 2025 resurfacing plan, and that crews were stopped in the field after work began. Commissioner Taylor moved to direct the town administrator to resume the installation; Commissioner Chance seconded the motion and it passed with Commissioners Rutledge, Taylor and Chance voting yes and Commissioner Chismar and Chair Eddington voting no.

The vote followed more than an hour of public comment and commissioner deliberation in which supporters and opponents presented data and differing interpretations of the NTMP. Carrie Lynn Lowry, a resident of 503 East Broadway, told commissioners she had reviewed town records and called the project's removal “not a mistake. This is a betrayal.” Anthony Blackburn, another resident, urged completion of the work: “Finish the project that was studied, approved, and funded.” Several neighbors said they had signed petitions supporting a speed hump and that staff had previously told them at least one hump would be installed.

Opponents, including residents Pamela Park, Denise Sennett and Janine Bittner, argued the block did not meet the program's numeric thresholds for a Level 2 measure and raised concerns about noise, pollution and emergency response time. Bittner said the two technical studies scored the block below the NTMP threshold for a level-2 hump and that “vehicle speed remained within acceptable limits” in those studies. Commissioner Chismar and others emphasized that the NTMP guidance is not codified in town code and that other factors referenced in the NTMP were not documented in the record.

Commissioners debated two central issues: whether staff had authority to promise and advance the installation outside of a strictly formulaic NTMP outcome, and whether, despite any gaps in the written criterion, the town had an obligation to residents who acted in good faith. Commissioner Taylor said the NTMP is advisory and that the town had an obligation to keep promises made to residents; Commissioner Chismar argued the board should not approve a measure that did not satisfy the NTMP criteria and said the town administrator had exceeded his authority.

The record includes the following quantitative details shared during public comment and staff exchanges: an October 2023 traffic study recorded 7,134 vehicle passages in under five days on the block, with 1,460 vehicles at 31 mph or faster; a resident petition showed roughly 81% support from homes on the block; staff told residents the work had been budgeted as part of resurfacing in July 2025. Residents and commissioners disagreed on how the NTMP's “other factors” provision should be applied and whether those factors were considered in the files the town maintained.

The motion that passed directed the town administrator to resume the previously approved installation. The action was a formal directive; commissioners who opposed it said the board should instead adopt a clearer, codified policy for NTMP procedures before approving measures that depart from published numeric thresholds.

Commissioners indicated they will pursue clearer, codified rules for the NTMP to reduce future disputes. For now, the town will move forward with the installation of the approved device on the 500 block of East Broadway as directed by the board.