Ocean City relaunching transit safety campaign for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists

OCEAN CITY, Md – Officials from MDOT, SHA, and Ocean City Thursday announced the relaunching of the town’s OC Walk Smart, Drive Smart, Bike Smart campaign.

“We’re hoping to respond to fewer collisions. The total fewer collisions. But obviously, pedestrian collisions because pedestrians are so vulnerable, especially when a vehicle is involved,’ said Ocean City Police Department Chief Ross Buzzuro.

For drivers, the campaign is stressing the need to drive slowly and yield to pedestrians in designated crosswalks as well as be on the lookout for cyclists.

Buzzuro tells 47ABC that thanks to a state grant, additional officers will be stationed at pedestrian crosswalks to enforce those rules, as nearly 300,000 people enter the town each week during the summer season.

“Those areas and high concentrate and high volumes of pedestrian and bicycles and scooters and vehicles is really where our top priority will be focused,” he said.

For cyclists, both on the boardwalk and on the highways, the campaign is stressing a need for reflective lights at night, to ride with traffic, and never on the sidewalk.

Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan says it’s all an important message to send during the summer when the town becomes the second-largest area in the state.

“Our goal has always been we want people to arrive here safely, be safe while they’re Ocean City, and returned home safely. They can come back and visit another time,’ he said.

And to help them out they are deploying a major signage campaign, so, across ocean city, visitors will Cheswick the crab and his safety tips for all groups.

“We are putting up the billboards all the way from, you know, the Bay Bridge all the way to Ocean City. You know, it’s about constant reminders. It’s about reinforcing. It’s about using their media, their social media, as well as ours, to get that message out,” Meehan said.