La Plata Targets U.S. 301 Safety With Red-Light Camera Request

LA PLATA, Md. — The Town of La Plata is asking the Maryland Department of Transportation to consider installing red-light cameras at two major intersections along U.S. 301 as part of its transportation priorities for Fiscal Year 2027.

The request was presented during the Charles County Board of Commissioners’ morning session on Tuesday, March 3, 2026, as part of the county’s annual transportation priority letter to the state.

Town officials are asking MDOT to evaluate red-light cameras at the intersections of U.S. 301 and MD 6, and U.S. 301 and Shining Willow Way. According to the letter, both locations have experienced numerous accidents, including fatalities.

The request is tied to findings from Charles County’s 2023 Local Roadway Safety Plan. The plan identifies five segments of the U.S. 301 corridor within the High Injury Network. One segment runs through the Town of La Plata between Rosewick Road and Old Stagecoach Road. Four additional segments extend from Billingsley Road to the northern county border.

County officials noted that nearly all serious incidents involving vulnerable roadway users have occurred in the greater Waldorf and La Plata areas.

The letter states that a key recommendation of the Local Roadway Safety Plan is to develop and implement a pedestrian safety plan specific to the U.S. 301 corridor. That plan would limit crossings at unsignalized locations, improve pedestrian visibility, manage vehicle speeds and apply other safety countermeasures.

Under the section titled “Project Requests from the Town of La Plata,” town officials also outlined additional transportation priorities. Those include visibility and signal timing concerns at the Hawthorne Road (MD 225) intersection, requests for crosswalks and acceleration and deceleration lanes, and proposed traffic signals at Glen Albin Road at Crain Highway (U.S. 301) and Old Stagecoach Road at Crain Highway (U.S. 301).

The Board of County Commissioners approved the transportation priority lette. The projects will now be reviewed by MDOT as part of the state’s Consolidated Transportation Program process, which determines future planning, design and construction funding decisions.

Watch the March 3 Meeting: CCGTV
See Full Meeting Agenda Here

Residents can review the full transportation priority presentation below.

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