City Council Urges SHA to Provide Earlier Warning for Route 1 Lane Closures

The College Park city council is making an effort to alleviate at least some of the traffic on Route 1, starting with giving motorists advanced warning about lane closures. 

Representatives from the State Highway Administration attended Tuesday night's city council meeting to discuss why exactly they approve lane closures on Route 1 for construction during peak commuting hours -- a question many residents have doubtlessly had time to ponder from their cars. 

SHA Assistant District Engineer Kate Mazzara told the council that the administration's standards generally allow road-closure warning signs to be placed half a mile in advance of a construction site during the day, and a mile in advance at night. These standards are meant to prevent confusion as to where the construction is happening, Mazzara said. 

But in the case of Route 1, the councilmembers argued that motorists needed sufficient warning if they're going to use an alternate route. Since the bulk of construction happening now is due to the Varsity and Starview apartment complexes -- therefore largely contained between Paint Branch Parkway and MD-193 -- drivers have the opportunity to take either route to avoid construction sites. That is, if they know about it soon enough.

As councilwoman Stephanie Stullich (Dist. 3) pointed out, the lane closures are not a surprise to the SHA, and needn't be a surprise to drivers, either. 

"I'm sure people would be frustrated with the answer 'We're just following the rules, and we can't help you," she said. 

Another potential solution proffered by the council is simply to require construction to happen overnight, so that lane closures don't worsen already dense daytime traffic. 

However, Mazzara said that requiring night work is a decision made by district traffic office, and that granting approval would be "really going against something we would normally do." 

“Everyone has a right to use the road, we at [State Highway] have to balance that responsibility,” she said.  

At the suggestion of Councilmember Patrick Wojahn (Dist. 1), Mazzara said she would look into the possibility of having lane-closure notifications sent to residents via the University of Maryland's email alert system.

Mazzara also said that, despite existing SHA standards, she would check into the feasibility of having signs posted further in advance, though not before adding again that the standards are in place to avoid creating additional confusion. 

Council members were not altogether satisfied by this answer. 

"I don’t think you hear the frustration that people are experiencing," Stullich said. "They're not confused -- they’re irate. It’s a problem. It’s a huge problem."