A Maryland state delegate organized a Tuesday evening town hall with residents and the Maryland Department of Transportation after a News4 report about grass being allowed to grow taller than 3 feet on Route 210 medians in Prince George’s County.
One hundred residents joined the virtual meeting to discuss the neglect of state roads in the county.
Del. Nick Charles, D-District 25, chairman of the Prince George’s County House Delegation, organized the town hall.
“Your story, you know, it brought up just the issue that I've already been fighting, and I'm happy so that you were able to do it because I knew I wasn't by myself with these issues and concerns,” Charles said.
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An MDOT supervisor for Prince George's County explained the four contractors the state hired to maintain the grass are either in default or grossly underperforming.
“This area is specifically getting hit hard with the grass, because we are literally out of contracts,” MDOT Deputy Engineer for District 3 Office Justin Schmidt said.
Charles said Prince George's County has more state lane miles but less funding than some comparable counties.
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“Why is it that when I drive through Prince George’s County I'm seeing trash on our roads, I'm seeing our grass overgrown, but when I go into Montgomery County, I'm not seeing these issues,” he said. “But when they have less lane miles than us and they have a higher amount of money going into their budget, that shows that there is a disparity.”
“No taxpayer in the state of Maryland should have the area they reside in or travel through look the way it does, and we fully recognize that,” Schmidt said.
The day after News4’s report, Chopper4 captured the state cutting Route 210 from the Charles County line to the Beltway. It's now cutting more of the county's state roads every day, many for the first time this summer.
