Annapolis Transportation Committee Meeting - January 14, 2026
Annapolis Transportation Committee Meeting - January 14, 2026
The Transportation Committee of the Annapolis City Council held a regular meeting on January 14, 2026, at 4:00 PM in City Council Chambers. The meeting was called to order by Alderwoman Allsup-Johnson at 4:02 PM. Roll call showed three members present: Alderwoman Allsup-Johnson, Alderman Schandelmeier, and Alderman Savidge. The agenda was approved on a voice vote. Alderwoman Allsup-Johnson was elected chair of the committee for the term. The meeting adjourned at 5:17 PM.
Discussion Items
- Speed Camera Program (ID-10-26): Captain Thacker, Sergeant Wayne, Captain Miguez, and Patrol Officer Wang from the Annapolis Police Department presented. They discussed the existing contract with Red Speed, potential new camera locations (West Street near library, Tyler Avenue near Stephanie Lane, Edgewood Road near Breakwater Drive, and Duke of Gloucester Street near St. Mary's), and ongoing data studies. The contract, originally from 2013, is being renegotiated with the city law office. The contractor requires a minimum number of violations to justify investment, which may limit placement. Three of the four proposed locations are city streets; West Street is a state highway requiring MDOT permits. Alderman Savidge requested a summary of the existing contract from the city law office. The discussion was continued to the February 11, 2026 meeting.
- Transportation Department Update (ID-11-26): Director Marcus Moore reported that electric vehicle charging infrastructure installation began after Christmas, with city work finishing in March and BGE substation work by mid-June. An RFP for a new e-bike/scooter vendor is expected within 30 days, aiming for spring implementation. Regarding the Hillman Garage and City Dock construction, about 55–65 additional parking spaces will be lost. A pilot shuttle service (electric cart) was proposed but met skepticism from Alderman Savidge, who suggested alternative investments like bike lanes. Automatic Vehicle Locator (AVL) updates: The city is seeking to piggyback on a Howard County contract via St. Mary’s County, with a determination expected by late February. AVL would enable real-time bus tracking via the Transit app and automated announcements. On parking, Alderman Schandelmeier pressed for drive-in/drive-out functionality at Hillman Garage; Director Moore promised an update with the garage contractor at the next meeting.
- Transportation Board Update (ID-12-26): Chair Tara Ashmore reported the board is focused on buses, bikes, and parking. Upcoming recommendations include optimizing reserved parking spaces at Hillman Garage and improving signage for EV charging stations. She offered to analyze the speed camera contract if provided with the 2013 agreement and monthly/annual reports. Based on a similar Bladensburg contract, she estimated Red Speed receives 33% of revenues, and the city would need ~$540,000 in annual revenue from four new cameras to cover three additional officers' salaries and benefits. She also noted the state fine schedule and suggested layering accident heat maps for camera placement. Alderman Savidge noted the city may need to consider total program costs vs. safety fund contributions.
Key Outcomes
- Alderwoman Allsup-Johnson was elected chair of the Transportation Committee.
- Speed camera program discussion will continue at the next meeting on February 11, 2026, with a request for the city law office to provide a contract summary.
- The Transportation Department will provide an update on Hillman Garage drive-in/drive-out parking at the February meeting, with a representative from the garage contractor.
- AVL piggybacking on the Howard County contract is pending; an update is expected at the next meeting.
- The Transportation Board will submit recommendations on Hillman Garage reserved parking and EV signage.
- The committee agreed to obtain the Red Speed contract and reports to enable financial analysis.
- The meeting adjourned at 5:17 PM.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening. We're about to begin our meeting for the transportation committee. Um call to order. I have done that. Um roll call. I have uh lawyer. Horizon with us today. At this time we have approval of the agenda. Madam Chair, I would like to make a motion to approve the agenda. I'll second that motion. Thank you. So we have to take a vote at this time. All in favor of the approval of the agenda. Aye. Aye. Any nays. Thank you. It has been approved. Now we have election of the chairman. Uh I would like to nominate all the women also Johnson to be the chair of the transportation committee. Second that motion. And I accept all in favor. Aye. Aye. Any nays? Okay. I it was approved that I am the chair person for this transportation. Yay. Okay, now we'll have our general discussions. Um we have the speed camera program, so the representative for that can come forward, please. And discuss the speed camera program. Um before you begin, can you just introduce yourself? Whatever I could please at this time. Good afternoon, it's Captain Thacker with the patrol division of the Annapolis Police Department. Sergeant Wayne from Traffic Safety, Annapolis was foreman. And Captain Amy Miguel, an administrative services captain at you. You may begin. Good afternoon, and thank you, Captain Thacker. Um in reference to this the uh the camera program, uh just some general conversation. Uh in September, we went through a uh a shift in the police department, and Sergeant Prince Wang became the point person in our traffic safety unit that will be leading and uh being the point person for this uh possible expansion expansion of the uh camera program. He has uh some basic information. He's uh he's becoming our residential expert at many of these issues. Uh uh Captain McGues and I have had uh a lot of conversations about this up to and including, and I think we probably need to talk about it in the city law office is also involved in this, is the uh actual contract with one of the vendors that uh the city of Annapolis has uh gone into uh this uh transactional type business relationship, and that would be Red Speed, and through all of the contracts that were available. I think that our city law office indicated on some fair to say some uh deficiencies or timing mechanisms inside of these contracts. Bottom line to all of that, and Amy can uh elaborate a little bit more in detail. Our city law office and Red Speed are in contact with one another, and there's going to be a meeting, I think, within either at the end of this week, possibly early next week to kind of hammer out some final details relative to the contractual nature between the city and our vendor. Um but it and suffice to say where we are with the expansion of the actual program itself. Red speed has been out, and Sergeant Wang can elaborate a little bit more on this. They have uh conducted some uh data studies and uh they did one phase of it. They uh have also finished a second phase, and I think they're in a position where they're actually uh crunching the numbers, I guess you'd say, and we're waiting for a final report back from them.
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