Surprise! Route 1 Faces Funding Problems
Pedestrian signals are being added to some parts of Route 1, but an overhaul of the road is still years away
Though a total overhaul of Route 1 may still be years away, steps are being taken to mitigate at least some of the danger associated with College Park's main thoroughfare.
Representatives from the Maryland State Highway Administration updated attendees of Thursday night's North College Park Citizens Association meeting on the projects currently underway, namely, adding audible pedestrian signals to some of the area's intersections.
Route 1 at Greenbelt Road is currently in the process of getting a new pedestrian walk with audible signal, as well as a double right turn lane from the westbound leg of Greenbelt Road onto northbound Route 1, said Felicia Murphy, the administration's assistant district engineer for traffic.
Though similar projects along Edgewood Road, Cherry Hill Road, and Hollywood Road have been approved, installation has been stalled due to either lack of funding or vague plans on the part of private developers responsible for their implementation. Installation of the audible pedestrian signal at the south and west legs of the Hollywood Road intersection, for example, is in the hands of a developer, Murphy said, adding that the highway administration has no way of knowing when installation will commence.
That the highway administration itself was unaware for the plans for the road struck some residents as odd.
"I'm just surprised the state highway administration is so laissez faire about that," said Mark Shroder, the president of the NCPCA. "I mean, it's your road."
Other residents expressed concern at the fact that existing signals are not currently functioning. Donna Weene pointed out that the pedestrian signal at Edgewood Road is out of service, meaning drivers are making left hand turns without regard for pedestrians.
"There is no safe time to cross that road," she said. "It's a very, very bad intersection."
Peter Campanides, another representative from the State Highway Administration present at the meeting, said a project was lined up to build a concrete island to enable pedestrians to cross in two stages.
When Shroder asked when it was expected to be built, Campanides said it faced the same difficulty as so many of the other planned development projects.
"There's no funding for it," he said.
Matthew Byrd
1:25 pm on Friday, September 10, 2010
Instead of improving the dangerous crosswalk at Edgewood and Route 1, I'd like to see someone look into the possibility of purchasing the property next to 4703 Edgewood, and creating an underpass from 47th Place through to the "main drag" along College Park Marketplace.
An underpass would pull the neighborhood traffic off of the intersections at Cherry Hill & Rt 1, and Edgewood & Rt 1, and would save a lot of time and fuel that are currently wasted in traffic there. It's not unusual to spend three cycles on Cherry Hill Rd during rush hour, trying to get back to Edgewood. It would also be a real relief on College game-days, when the traffic patterns are completely out of whack on Rt 1.
I suppose the "no funding" line could be said of this proposal, as well. But if we're going to fight for funding, I would rather have it be for something that's going to have a positive impact on traffic congestion in the area, and an underpass would contribute as part of the solution.
Jane Hopkins
8:11 am on Saturday, September 11, 2010
an underpass would be BRILLIANT much better than a park (of course we only seem to get funding for design, not work) FINISHING the intersection at route 1 and greenbelt road would be nice, I find the intersection confusing and vision more limited now. As as resident I have gotten used to the mess, but what about all of the out of town drivers that will start poring in this fall?