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Annapolis Drivers Face Slower Speeds on Forest Drive
17 Jul
Summary
- Forest Drive speed limit will decrease from 40 to 35 mph starting July 27.
- A safety study revealed Forest Drive has a high crash rate on county roads.
- Lowering speeds is expected to reduce crash frequency and severity.

Drivers in Annapolis will soon need to adjust to a reduced speed limit on Forest Drive. As of July 27, the speed limit will be lowered from 40 mph to 35 mph. This decision was prompted by a recent safety assessment conducted by Anne Arundel County.
The study indicated that Forest Drive experiences a notably high rate of traffic incidents. It ranked ninth among county-owned roads for overall crash rates and third for four-lane county roads. The primary types of crashes observed include rear-end collisions, left-turn accidents, and pedestrian incidents.
Engineers involved in the study believe that decreasing the maximum speed is a key strategy to mitigate these issues. The expectation is that slower speeds will not only lessen the occurrence of crashes but also reduce their potential severity. Some residents, however, express skepticism about driver behavior changing without additional enforcement measures like speed cameras.