By Tara Fischer

Staff Writer

Ocean Pines residents are calling for proactive measures on Ocean Parkway and throughout the community to enhance pedestrian and bike safety following a fatal neighborhood accident last month.

Per a press release issued by Ocean Pines Association’s Director of Marketing and Public Relations Josh Davis, on the morning of Nov. 16, a fatal motor vehicle collision occurred on Ocean Parkway between Briarcrest Drive and Beaconhill Road.

The press release reported, “a vehicle…traveled off the right side of the roadway and struck an individual on the property of 47 Ocean Parkway.”

At the community’s Saturday, Nov. 23 board of directors meeting, residents urged neighborhood officials to take steps to prevent similarly tragic incidents from happening again.

Among the public commenters was Scott Shellenberger, whose wife was killed on Ocean Parkway in May 2023.

Shellenberger asked OPA leaders lto look at safety measures such as speed bumps and signs to make Ocean Pines a more pedestrian-friendly place.

“[Accidents] are inevitable…they are going to happen here because this is publicized as a residential community, but the infrastructure is not residential,” he said.

“There is something from a safety standpoint that can be done. Is it speed humps? Is it visuals? What can you do to slow someone down?”

Also present at the Nov. 23 meeting was Patti Stevens of the Worcester County Bike and Pedestrian Coalition. Stevens emphasized that she sees Ocean Pines officials working to make the community a safer place by posting signs that tell people if they’re speeding and crosswalks on roads like Robin Hood Trail.

“This is all good progress,” she said.

But Stevens maintained that Ocean Parkway is the community’s main throughway, and more can be done to prioritize safety.

“How the neighborhood was designed, you can’t get from your house to your mailbox without walking on Ocean Parkway,” she said.

“You can’t get to the school bus stop without walking on [Ocean Parkway]. This was designed as a summer community. It’s not a summer community anymore. It is a year-round robust community…we need to do something more with the engineering of the main throughway of our road…We have a safe community when you’re in your home, but when you’re on the road or in the neighborhood, you’re not safe. It’s not safe, and it’s not getting better.”

Stevens noted that if the board does not like the recommendation to widen the shoulder and narrow the driving lane, which she said is a strategy that has been done “all around the country with great success,” then officials must look to employing professionals who can evaluate best safety practices.

“Please make this a priority,” she said. “Commit the resources this year, not another year…we don’t want memorials for deaths on our roads.”

OPA resident Tim McMullen also spoke at last month’s meeting, where he advised the board to place speed bumps on Ocean Parkway.

He argued that if these additions could make someone slow down from 45 miles per hour to 25 miles per hour, it could “save the life of a young child.”

OPA Police Chief Tim Robinson updated the community on the Nov. 16 accident, saying the incident remains under investigation. The Maryland State Police are handling accident reconstruction. The Ocean Pines Police Department will work with the Worcester County State’s Attorney to determine the next steps after the state police’s investigation is completed.

“It’s a difficult case, and we’re doing everything we can to ensure a thorough investigation,” Robinson said.