OCEAN CITY — The sheer number of vehicles trying to get onto and off the island via Ocean City’s main gateway over the Route 52 causeway can lead to gridlock even at the best of times.
The summer is not among those times, and the intersection of Ninth Street and Bay Avenue frequently features traffic trying to traverse it in four directions.
Complicating matters are pedestrians, some pushing baby strollers, and cyclists trying to get by safely.
That’s why the Ocean City Police Department posts a seasonal officer at the intersection to control the flow of traffic.
Police Chief Bill Campbell said the department has an officer at the intersection “so we don’t have traffic backed up across the bridge into Somers Point.”
“In the summertime, during Saturday changeover day, we see a high volume of traffic coming into and leaving town. We found over the years it was necessary to put an officer at that traffic light to let it run east and west on Ninth Street a little longer to alleviate the volume,” Campbell said.
Backups were causing traffic issue for the Somers Point Police Department at the other end, where the causeway turns into MacArthur Boulevard to the west with Shore Road leading north and Somers Point-Mays Landing Road south — site of the former traffic circle.
Campbell said the officer has discretion to allow a light in either direction to stay green longer.
“If it backs up on Bay, we will let Bay Avenue run north and south — mostly north with people making a left onto bridge — the officer will let that light stay green north and south to get more people out of town,” he said.
Campbell said an officer is stationed at the intersection mostly on the weekends.
“Probably Friday and definitely Saturday, they are the busiest days into town,” he said.
However, on a nice day, “a lot of people come into the city to go to the beach, boardwalk, whatever purpose, it can force us to put somebody at the light.”
“We send someone down there when we feel the need,” Campbell said.
The chief said not a lot of people cross there, but noted that whether they were on foot, two or four wheels, “the same principles apply like anywhere else in town, cross when you have the right of way.”
– STORY and PHOTO by CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff