Stop sign cameras come to Prince George’s County

Lillian Glaros
A stop sign monitored by stop sign cameras at the intersection of Rhode Island Avenue and Lakeland Road Sept. 17, 2026 in the Lakeland neighborhood of College Park. (Lillian Glaros/The Black Explosion)

Commuters, beware: Obey stop signs, or you could get a ticket in College Park and other neighboring municipalities. 

University Park, Greenbelt, Hyattsville, and Riverdale Park are just some of the jurisdictions besides College Park that have installed stop sign cameras.

Greenbelt issued warnings for stop sign violations in April and has been enforcing violations since, according to the City of Greenbelt.

On Aug. 5, University Park’s City Council unanimously approved a ticketing threshold for cars enforcement in late September, according to the Common Council Meeting Minutes.

Hyattsville began a 30-day warning period at the beginning of September, with enforcement beginning on Oct. 1, according to their website. Riverdale Park’s town website said it began a month-long warning period on Sept. 28, with ticketing to begin on drivers moving over 1.9 miles per hour at stop signs with cameras on October 28th.

College Park’s program began enforcement earlier this year, according to the city website.

During Tuesday’s city council work session, Deputy City Manager Michelle Bailey-Hedgepeth said that fewer drivers have disobeyed stop signs.

However, the meeting agenda stated that they still observe a decent number of people failing to stop at intersections.

When asked why so many neighboring jurisdictions had recently adopted stop sign cameras, College Park Mayor Fazlul Kabir cited enabling legislation passed in Maryland.

The statute, passed in 2024, authorizes local authorities in Prince George’s County, as well as other limited areas in the state, to enforce stop sign violations using cameras. The ticket amount is set at $40. The legislation is effective until June 30, 2029. 

“It’s all about improving pedestrian safety, because one accident is too many,” Kabir said.

In 2024, the city conducted a study to find areas where pedestrian and bicycle safety was an issue, according to their meeting agenda this past Tuesday. Later the city identified nine areas to investigate further, leading to five areas selected for stop sign camera monitoring:

  • Edgewood Road, eastbound at 52nd Place
  • Rhode Island Avenue, southbound at Lakeland Road 
  • College Avenue, westbound at Yale Avenue
  • Calvert Road, westbound at Rhode Island Avenue 
  • St. Andrews Place, westbound at Davidson Street

Another reason pedestrian safety is of concern in College Park is due to the fatal vehicle-pedestrian accident that occurred a couple of years ago in neighboring Riverdale Park, Kabir said.

In November 2023, two elementary students were struck and killed by a vehicle at the intersection of Riverdale and Taylor Roads next to Riverdale Elementary School according to The Associated Press. That intersection is just one of nine locations where Riverdale Park has installed stop sign cameras.

Erin Egan, a graduate student in the Library Science master’s program at the University of Maryland, said she began to ride the 104 bus more last semester due to worries about drivers not obeying stop signs late at night.

“[Drivers not obeying stop signs] makes my experience feel much more fraught, let’s say I stop at the crosswalk, … if I see any cars at all, I will not walk…because I do not trust them to stop,” Egan said.

Not all UMD students agree. Amyah Wilson, a senior psychology and women’s studies major, commutes to campus. Wilson said she believes the cameras are “a little too much.”

“I used to do rolling stops but now I’m overly cautious because I’m not about to pay the ticket,” Wilson said.