From Harford County government:
Box Hill Corporate Center Drive between Box Hill South Parkway and Woodsdale Road will be closed to all through traffic on or about July 13, 2015 for roundabout construction at Woodsdale Road. Please make other arrangements if you travel on this roadway. If you have any questions please call the Department of Public Works, Bureau of Construction Inspections at 410-638-3217 extension 2442.
Don’t these people have anything better to do than to invite trouble with these roadstools!? I can’t count the number of accidents that have almost happened in front of me — or to me — because of these things. People don’t know how to drive them; there are no plans, I’m sure, for the county or state to teach people how to drive them; so we’re left with accidents narrowly avoided because people don’t know how to drive these things. I remember reading a report over a decade ago where New Jersey was plowing under their roadstools in favor of, and I quote, “safer, controlled intersections.” Now: What does New Jersey know that we do not!?
They build them not because it’s the right thing to do but because per Map-21 federal funding grant availability they are 90% financed w fed dollars. All grant writers chase “free” stuff because they get attaboys in the office. Mindset is it’s not our money – load up on it.
It’s a pity a basic IQ test isn’t required for a drivers license. It would probably eliminate a quarter of the drivers wandering around in the way now. I can see how daunting a circle with yield signs must be. The people you see struggling in the circles are idiots. It’s a yield sign… hint: don’t hit the other car.
People are dumb. Have you ever tried to navigate the 4 way stop at the Home Depot in Bel Air? It’s like all knowledge of the rules of the road go out the window at that intersection!
Last week when the power went out in widely scattered parts of the county, I had to drive through the intersection of US 1 and MD 136 where all the power was out (the Wawa at that intersection was still down long after the power came back up in the area). I was shocked to find drivers actually treating the intersection the way the law requires you to treat such an intersection. Anyone know how? Anyone? You have a light-controlled intersection where the lights are out, you treat it as a four-way stop. And drivers were actually doing that. You never see that happening. But then, Maryland drivers have a problem knowing the law. For example, how many of you turn on your headlights when you run your windshield wipers? What, you didn’t know that was the law? As the old saying holds, ignorance of the law is no excuse.
I learned to drive years ago on those NJ roadstools. There was nothing more fun than facing the challenge of what we knew as traffic circles, and I still miss them in NJ. These new ones in MD are taking me back to those days and I love it!
“According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, there is on average a 40% decrease in all accidents and a 90% drop in fatal ones when a traffic intersection is replaced by a roundabout.”
“The roundabout is said to have flourished in Britain because it requires the British virtues of compromise and cooperation. The U.S.’s more aggressive, confrontational culture may explain why the roundabout has not been more widely adopted by Americans.”
http://www.bbcamerica.com/mind-the-gap/2014/02/17/why-americans-dont-understand-the-roundabout/
Always look at demographics and other traffic conditions when citing studies. Accidents may be less likely to result in serious injury or death w roundabouts but it doesn’t result in fewer accidents. I’m thinking back to the recent traffic fatalities and a roundabout wouldn’t have helped the guy who was run over by the jeep, or the lady who ran off the road in Jarrettesville, et al. Throwing these roundabouts in everywhere doesn’t address the primary traffic issues in Harford but it does keep traffic moving – that solves the issue w development restrictions based upon stop times at intersections nearby proposed projects. I’m sure the people of Boise, ID will be thrilled to know they’re building roundabouts in Harford to solve safety problems that don’t exist .
And that’s the problem at that intersection, traffic building up from behind Wegmans and coming out of Wawa and Friendship Liquors. It’s a bear to navigate during rush hour and on the weekends.
A majority of these fat, prude, butt sniffin’ harford county people never even look left/yield when driving their fancy “hot hot” POS car into these round about.
Dozen MVC daily and you butt sniffers want more? I can’t say a color lighted traffic controlled intersection is the better choice because all the finger smellers ignore the signal and just go anyway, causing accidents.
I hate to disappoint all the retired, grouchy, complainers around here, but maybe you’ll be happy to know that the roundabout was required by the development of the apartments near the intersection and will be paid for by that developer, not the county or the Feds.
And even before the apartments were announced, I had contacted the county a few times because something needed to be done at that intersection, it was too dangerous to leave as it was because people drive too fast down Woodsdale and the volume had increased too much to make a turn in a reasonable time. It should have been required by the count with the initial approval of the whole Wegman’s complex.
The additional benefit of a roundabout if constructed and placed properly is that it causes people to slow down, which is the main problem at most intersections.
I don’t understand how anyone could complain about an increase in fender benders and a decrease in fatalities.
Totally w you if the intersection has been deemed a safety hazard. There are definitely road conditions that don’t support the widespread installation of these roundabouts. It may be true that this roundabout is being financed by a developer but that’s not the norm and doesn’t explain the proliferation of these things of course other than the Feds have agreed to pick up the tab. So the Feds create this tool and it’s one of only a couple they’ll subsidize – starts to create that scenario whereby when all you have is a hammer everything starts looking like a nail.
The British lady on my GPS refers to them as “roundabouts” and I love ’em… every time I have to STOP at the 155/161 intersection in the middle of nowhere when there’s other cars there or no one around I wonder why don’t they put a roundabout there…
I think roundabouts are great. When one was first considered for the 165/24 intersection up by North Harford High School there were all kinds of reasons given why it would not work. After it was built it has worked great.
I was one of the people who didn’t want it, but love it now. Many people balk at change, but after it happens, many times its for the best.
You old-timers may remember this related song:
That’s it in a nutshell, ASK. People refuse to be considerate and courteous. No one wants to yield to the right-of-way or to whatever driver got to the intersection first. Look at the number of accidents at red lights. Many drivers don’t want to stop for them and some blatantly run them and stop signs and attempt to do the same with roundabouts aka traffic circles. Many drivers are selfish.
REVISED: Box Hill Corporate Center Drive Closing to Through Traffic for Roundabout Construction at Woodsdale Road
Box Hill Corporate Center Drive between Box Hill South Parkway and Woodsdale Road will be closed to all through traffic on or about July 13, 2015 for roundabout construction at Woodsdale Road for approximately six weeks. Please make other arrangements if you travel on this roadway.
Access to all businesses on Box Hill Corporate Center Drive will be from Box Hill South Parkway.
Wonder how long it will take to build this round about? Realistically a week hussling it is all that’s needed, maybe even less. I’m betting its nearly a month long project. LOL
Some construction companies are just plain SLOW.
I really loved how they ground off 2 inches of asphalt on Laurel Bush and left it like that for nearly a month. I was beginning to wonder if someone was repossessing the blacktop.