Carroll?s proposal that the county ? not developers ? hire engineers to evaluate new houses? impact on traffic infuriates some engineers and developers.
“Dozens of consultants are hired to build a shopping center, house, office or even a road, and what the county is doing is singling out traffic engineering as something that is being done by unscrupulous people,” said Wes Guckert, president of The Traffic Group, an engineering firm.
“I?ve done 6,000 studies around the world, and this is really the first” time officials took over the hiring of traffic engineers, he said.
But having the county hire consultants could eliminate any actual or perceived bias in studies, said Clay Black, bureau chief for development review.
Traffic engineers already strive for accuracy, because if they garnered a reputation of proffering skewed opinions on behalf of developers, they?d lose their credibility, said Clark Shaffer, an attorney for developers.
“It?s not in their self-interest” to be dishonest, he said. “Traffic studies have been reduced to a science. It?s one of those expert areas where yes, there are some subjective aspects … but the experts that I have dealt with have been people of integrity.”
Developer Nick Pirone, president of Robyn Properties, said he prefers to work with traffic experts “one on one, versus going through county agencies.”
“Sometimes the county does not look at common sense versus the guidelines and treats rules as either black or white,” he said.
The proposal would help the county evaluate traffic among many developments comprehensively instead of piecemeal ? a potential cost savings for developers who don?t have to pay consultants to count cars during rush hour if another builder did so recently, county traffic engineer Chris Letnaunchyn said.
Developers still will pay for the studies, as the county intends to charge them.
IF YOU GO
What: Public hearing on traffic studies
When: 10 a.m. Thursday
Where: Carroll Government Offices, 225 N. Center St., Westminster
