Three-term commissioner says he does favor traffic light at Moakley Street and in fact he has been trying for years to get the State of Maryland to put a light at the intersection.

By Kenneth C. Rossignol

ST. MARY’S TODAY

LEONARDTOWN (Dec. 18, 2008)  --- Just to set the record straight, St. Mary’s Commissioner Tommy Mattingly (D. Leonardtown), who has been serving in office for ten years, having been sworn in for his first term in December of 1998 says that news reports in a local paper which were published about last week’s SHA public meeting on the Rt. 5 corridor in Leonardtown were inaccurate about his blocking a traffic light at Moakley Street and Rt. 5.

Mattingly, who did not name the news report, got more indignant and outraged as he went on about the subject during the commissioner’s time, a segment of the meeting that they use to compliment their grandchildren for a recent birthday or report card, note the birthdays and anniversaries of local members of the public and report on how many dinners they attended in the past week.

By the time Mattingly got through with his protestations of innocence of the charge of blocking the traffic light, he went on about how much he has supported the installation of a traffic light.

A traffic signal at the intersection of Moakley Street and Rt. 5 would allow residential neighborhoods on both sides of the highway an opportunity to access the busy roadway. In addition to the Abell street neighborhood and the large Singletree development are the Board of Education headquarters and several medical centers. 

With a traffic signal at that location, the traffic entering and leaving St. Mary’s Hospital would be able to have a break, as well as patrons of the commercial shopping center which was recently built at the site of the old Mattingly’s IGA.

Mattingly, who spoke at length about how much he had done to bring about a traffic light, never mentioned that it was ST. MARY’S TODAY that had reported he had opposed the light.

During the ten years that Mattingly has held office the number of rear end collisions along Rt. 5 have soared with dozens of injuries and at least one fatal wreck.  The installation of a traffic light and a center turn lane in the commercial areas was cited as being desired improvements by many citizens at last week’s public meeting.

Had those improvements been made during the past ten years there is a good possibility that many of those injuries could have been avoided.

Rt. 5 is the main drag in Leonardtown and Mattingly is the commissioner who represents the Leonardtown and Hollywood election districts.

During the last ten years new traffic lights have been installed at Great Mills Road and Carver School Road; at Indian Bridge Road and Rt. 5; at the entrance to Leonardtown High School; at Rt. 5 and Rt. 244; at the entrance to the Shops at Breton Bay and Rt. 5; at 3 locations on Rt. 235 in Lexington Park; at the entrance to First Colony shopping center and Rt. 235 and at FDR Blvd and Rt. 4, both in California.

Mattingly isn’t very astute when it comes to transportation issues.

At a recent commissioners meeting he was adamant in opposing the preservation of the old U. S. Navy railroad right of way for future restoration of commuter rail service.  Mattingly observed that the State of Maryland would have to take part of the right of way for construction of an overpass at the Rt. 4/Rt. 235 intersection in California, making the issue of commuter rail to Pax River NAS dead.

Mattingly’s lack of travel to other locations in Maryland may be responsible for his not knowing that the state is very successful at mixing highways and railroads with overpasses, underpasses and grade crossings, such as the new light rail line which was built into BWI airport.
This busy highway comes to a stop for about two minutes as a light rail train crosses the eight lane access road to BWI airport.  ST. MARY'S TODAY photo

Traffic signals and gates stop traffic when trains come, but if an elected official can’t seem to be able to get one traffic light installed in Leonardtown, it is understandable that when it comes to sophisticated transportation plans, that Commissioner Mattingly just doesn’t get it.

The Maryland Department of Transportation conducted a feasibility study ten years ago which called upon St. Mary’s County to halt allowing easements across the right of way.

Mattingly has participated in allowing more than a half dozen new easements across the right of way, with the most recent ones being given to the St. Mary’s Market Place development located at St. Andrews Church Road (Rt. 4) and Rt. 235 and to Wildewood.

Sen. Roy Dyson (D. St. Mary’s, Calvert and Charles) has spearheaded transportation planning to encompass rail, bus and highway planning with a goal of implementing commuter rail over existing CSX tracks into Charles County and eventually using the railroad right of way to Pax River for restoration of rail.

The right of way is about 95 percent intact with gaps in places where the State Highway and SMECO needed land for Rt. 235 and for utilities.  Both agencies can easily accommodate restoration of land needed to fill the gaps in the right of way.

Should Commissioner Mattingly be able to dig up any official letters he wrote asking for installation of the light, ST. MARY'S TODAY will share them with our readers.   But Mattingly should have stuck with the position of opposing the traffic signal, at least he looked effective.