From Fallston Residents Unite:
Hello District 7 Neighbors & Supporters,
Are You Interested in and/or Concerned About Fallston’s Apparently Growing Traffic Issues?
Please Attend Fallston’s Community Council Meeting
Tuesday, September 24, 2013, at 6:30 pm
Fallston Fire Station (multipurpose room in back) on Carrs Mill Road in Fallston
Please Note: If schools are closed due to inclement weather, the meeting will be cancelled.
If you live in or travel through Fallston, you have experienced our seemingly growing traffic problems. As far as we know the meeting is to focus on the traffic study for the Mountain Road / Route 1 area.
The Community Council Chairman is awaiting the name of the speaker from the State Highway Administration (SHA). We will update this announcement when we get more information.
If you are interested and/or concerned about Fallston’s increasing traffic issues, please come to the meeting. Please help us spread the word by telling your neighbors and friends. We look forward to seeing everyone at the meeting!
Get on our notification list by sending an email request to FallstonResidentsUnite@gmail.com.
Visit & “Like” us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/FallstonResidentsUnite.
Please tell your friends. Help us spread the word.
Thank you for your support!
Email: fallstonresidentsunite@gmail.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/FallstonResidentsUnite
Online Petition: http://www.change.org/petitions/the-planned-rv-park-in-fallston-say-no-to-the-planned-rv-campground-at-routes-1-152-in-fallston-md
Yeah, they have traffic problems because they have a NUM-NUTS FIRE POLICE blocking the damn road,, who is this guy? big flashing lights on his truck what a nut job. blocking traffic for about an hour what a jerk.
Are you talking about the traffic control in front of Mountain Christian? Be specific.
Last I checked, unless they moved it, Mountain Christian is in Joppa and not Fallston. Although Fallston seems to be the place where concern is being raised thru the Community Association the major problem in my experience with 152 is the stretch between Route 95 and Route 1. Most of that isn’t Fallston, at least not Fallston zip code. Crazy busy and I suppose some of the people using it are going to or coming from Fallston. The solution is to widen Mountain Road but get ready for the whining and complaining and demonstrations when that comes. It will make Walmart at Plumtree look like nothing.
It seems that a number of people believe the Joppa/Fallston border is at I95.
How can Bane get an award for his great job of Traffic enforcement and this story come out? Fallston, you love him and keep voting him in. Five years and nothing has changed. Maybe time to send a message and give someone else a chance.
Marc – Perhaps you and some heavily armed deputies should patrol the streets…..
The Sheriff’s Department isn’t responsible for road construction.
It’s the civic duty of ALL citizens to participate in their local government/community issues. Without us, our elected employees have the propensity to run amuck.
There isn’t ever going to be any less traffic on mountain rd, so lets get on with turning it into a divided highway.
Unless you plan on buying the homes along 152 that can’t be done. 152 can’t become what 24 was intended to be for various reasons foremost 152 snakes through established neighborhoods with driveway access directly onto 152…24 was created using what was open farmland. If people wouldn’t drive like inconsiderate dirtbags and were satisfied with driving the posted speed limit (yes, believe it or not it’s 45 mph and tops out at 50 as you begin to get closer to 95).
While I agree with you about the quality of driver on the roads you are asking too much from these little bitty two lane roads for the amount of traffic they carry. No one likes succumbing to eminent domain. Either the road needs to be widened like so many others around here or you need to convince people to leave through some other incentive
You can’t use eminent domain for just a slice of land – 15 ft out on both sides of the road would put you 2 ft. from the front door of every house between Harford and Belair Rd. and then several others further down 152. It’s gonna get pretty darn expensive…I think we should ask developers to pay for it. The cost of every bit of property seized by government ought to come out of developers pockets – we ought to require they pay into a pool for any development outside the d. envelope funds to be used specifically for infrastructure pressures and costs…watch em howl!!!
The County will just expand the development envelope to negate this, just as it will expand the development envelope once it becomes full.
Otherwise, I find your idea intriguing.
Impact fees have been used to temper development and defray infrastructure costs all across the country and for several decades. It can be as little as a small fee for public schools to substantial costs for future roads…the idea that Joe Taxpayer’s money should be used to pay for seizing Joe Taxpayer’s property while both the seller and buyer of the townhouse lots down the road walk away scott free is ludicrous. There are real additional costs to developing outside the envelope for public services, increased congestion, pollution, safety and an overall quality of life.
Here’s a link to a pretty simple tool that illustrates how impact fees can be applied – costs are not set but vary dependent upon how far from services the developement is proposed. In this case some of the areas in Tucson would require $9000 bucks extra for impact charges.
http://cms3.tucsonaz.gov/planning/prog_proj/projects/cost/index.html
Money tree the 152 I’m saying to widen to a divided highway is already one between Harford and Belair rd and is not 2 ‘ from any front doors. Which 152 are you refering to ?
One solution would be to make Route 152 between Route 1 and I-95 one-way southbound during the morning commute and one-way northbound during the evening commute. Hang lighted signs over the road like they do on a section of Erdman Avenue in Baltimore; red X for lane closed, green arrow for lane open.
Very smart idea and one that would save money and accomplish the same thing. There is northbound traffic but you’re right 80% of it is southbound morning and northbound night.
I’ve mentioned this idea to some people in a position to influence or make the changes to 152, and generally I get blank stares and non-replies. I’m not holding out much hope on it.
What I suggested was just using a 3 lane road (which it already is most of the way), with the center lane the alternating north/south lane. In some spots it would require a 4th lane for turns, and thus probably still some widening.
I think the major problem here is the light pollution from the signage will drive resident opposition, and the fact that people are already hitting each other head-on without having opposing traffic right next to them, so there is a safety concern as well.
I think if we wanted to do it, we could make it happen and address both of those concerns adequately, but I’m guessing there would be no traction on trying to do something right the first time.
It’s much easier to do the easy thing, spending as little as possible, making as many happy as possible, and claiming to have solved a problem when you have only marginally delayed its recurrence, leaving the same debate for the next group of people to argue over in another 10-15 years.
@noble: I’m not surprised that those in a position of authority wouldn’t be interested in a simple solution. People like that generally favor a solution that would allow them to throw tens of millions of dollars to their developer buddies and maybe get Route 152 renamed after themselves.
Interesting phrase, “… what 24 was intended to be.” Is Route 24 functioning as it was intended to? What if access to 152 north from 95 was discontinued? Make 152 local only. That would force people off of the two lane 152 and onto the larger, safer Route 24 to access the northern parts of the county.
Yeah, because 24 is the model road for less-than-capacity traffic at the moment…
Why not? They bought a chunk of every plot, and a number of entire properties, along 22 to expand that road from I95 to APG.
Who is “they” Kharn? Of course “they” is us, the taxpayers – part of the last transportation bill passed by the feds has set aside funds for displacement of homeowners and it’s almost completely paid for with federal dollars – meaning there’s nearly no disincentive to seize property. It’s one thing to increase the size of a military structure (our common defense) thereby creating increased traffic but quite another story when the out of control traffic is a symptom of development run amok. Eminent domain ought to be our last resort, not our first impulse.
715 should have been extended to I95 all those years ago….. “eminent domain” would have been a few properties, and former Beachtree Golf versus “eminent domain” every piece of property down the Route 22 between Beards Hill and APG for a 6 lane mega road, or whatever the plan is. Not only would a 715 to I95 benefit APG, but every constant tractor trailer from all those warehouses, and industrial businesses wouldn’t need to drive up and down Route 40/7/22 to get to the Interstate.
I’m no expert, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn once.
Good point Jack Rabbit. Mountain Road/Route 152 is a nightmare during the most heavily travelled hours.
152 between Mountain Branch and I95 is a nightmare every single day.
How about we start the 2 lane divided road there?
There are still a couple of homes through that stretch and it seems to me you’re already so close to 95 at that point what really is accomplished? Not trying to be argumentative; just realistic. If you did split at Mountain Branch you’d most likely have to then put a light in where the gas station is at the bottom of the hill – people already do 65 in a 50; open it up and they’ll be flooring it to get to the highway. People pulling out right there are at big risk as it is. Nothing more illustrates the general breakdown in civility than the insane, selfish way that people drive.
The main problem with upgrading these 2 lane roads to 6 lane super highways, is that – the only time they are busy is when traffic peaks the most during work hours, other than that (Bel Air excluded) these county roads are desolate, so spending a trillion dollars to flow the traffic better for 2 hours a day doesn’t make much sense.
Drive down 152 at 3AM in the morning.
My dear Fallstonians: You wanted a community center…you got it. You want a new elementary school…you are getting it. You want a wider Mountain Road so you can get home faster…you’ll eventually get that too. Then your community will be so attractive that more and more people will move in and your traffic problems and whining will only escalate exponentially.
Don’t be so sure that the people in Fallston really wanted that community center any more than they want a highway cutting through that side of town.
Well if they didn’t want a community center I would hate to see what they would have if they really did want one. They already have the top of the line.
I concede the point.
Thanks. I’m just jealous that my community association isn’t as powerful as Fallston. When Fallston wants something they usually get it, and sooner rather than later. In fact I’m not sure I even have a community association and I know we don’t have a center.
I’m not sure there are any community centers like the one in Fallston – makes no sense to me that this huge structure was built there far away from population centers and impossible to get to without driving. And gosh the irony is the perfect place for a multi-use community center would be smack where the Walmart is supposed to go.
The folks in Fallston don’t want Mountain Road widened past Route 1. Suggest that it be widened to two lanes from 95 to past Pleasantville Road and the howling will begin.
Money Tree wants the new additions to the county to pay for the congestion caused by the already existing population.
Another liberal grab of other peoples money to fix a problem they caused but take no personal responsibility for.
Classic.
Oh darn I forgot MT only posts while at work at her government job. Maybe tomorrow we will get answers.
First of all whoever you are I’m no liberal but a concerned citizen and affected resident with a long history in this county. Say the word “impact fee” in front of developers and it’s like holding a cross up to a vampire. I understand nothing irritates developers more than a plugged in citizenry first; impact fees second – but if you profit from an activity that ends up costing all of us a lot more money and hassle you ought to pay for it. Not blaming developers completely as it’s clear to me our entire system is built upon a pyramid scheme framework that requires either increased taxes or increased taxpayers – every bonus, new job, road, “step”, etc. has to be funded and now that the state has dumped teacher pensions directly on the counties it’s hard to figure how it all gets paid for other than developement. There is a responsible way to do it and a reasoned way – every foundation built outside the d. envelope ought to carry impact fees…there’s no other way to slow down the crazy greed train.
If you would carefully look, you would see that the state already owns most of the land to make 152 a divided highway from I-95 to Route 1, just as they own land in a similar fashion along 155, and on 24 from the bypass to 23. Look at the length of the driveways, size of the front yards, and the location of the power poles. A vast majority of the land has already been acquired, and all that is needed now is the political will to do the right thing and widen the road.
I attended the meeting last night. Fallston says it has a traffic problem. State Highway Administration and their consultant say Fallston does not have a traffic problem. The study focused very narrowly on the intersection of Route 152 and Route 1. The intersection is performing acceptably according to SHA. They grade the intersection as a ‘D’ out of a possible grade of ‘A’ thru ‘F’. That’s acceptable according to them. All based on their survey of one day – a observation – a Tuesday in January. End of discussion. I became convinced that SHA is a bad joke.