DOT's Blocking the Box Campaign on Hold

Two months ago Mayor Catherine Pugh said Baltimore’s Department of Transportation would begin in June to crack down on drivers who let themselves get caught in the middle of an intersection when the light changes—known as “blocking the box.”

Well, that hasn’t happened, yet. And it may not for a while.

City Council President Jack Young says he wants the department to make sure traffic lights in the city are synchronized before they start handing out fines. It’s only fair.

“And we gotta follow up and make sure they’ve done that before the actually start issuing fines,” said Young.

Kathy Dominick, spokesperson for the department, says they are committed to synchronizing lights at 14 intersections, but the timeline for all this is still unclear.

Meanwhile, Young introduced a bill at Monday night's city council meeting that would cut the $250 fine for blocking the box in half.

So, that means for now, anyway, you won’t get fined for blocking the box.