Community Corner

Arbutus Answers: What Can be Done About East Drive?

Arbutus Patch addresses issues raised by readers.

Several residents have complained, in e-mail as well as in person at community meetings, about the difficulty of crossing East Drive in Arbutus. Trying to cross from one side of the street to the other is like a game of Frogger.

Can anything be done about the traffic on East Drive to make it friendier for pedestrians?

The definitive answer: Yes, but no.

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The pedestrian problem in Arbutus "isn't a new subject," says Steve Weber, chief of the county's Bureau of Traffic Engineering. "There have been issues with traffic on East Drive for years," he says.

The problem isn't even unique to Arbutus, but occurs in communities throughout the area that are centered along a main street, such as Catonsville, Ellicott City and Reisterstown.

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"This is a frustration I hear throughout the county," Weber says. "Conflicts between pedestrians and traffic are common in any area. It's a complex problem."

East Drive already has marked crosswalks and additional signage that warns drivers to yield to pedestrians. Speed humps and other forms of traffic quieting are out of the question, and an additional light on East Drive between Linden and Sulphur Spring would probably be more of a bother than a solution, he says.

"There would be more delay if they wait for the lights to cycle, and people will cross against the light anyway," says Weber.

County traffic engineers have studied East Drive, and according to Weber the "safety profile of the street is good."

What traffic engineers didn't find was a lot of people waiting at the curbs.

"There aren't people waiting by the side of the road," Weber says. "People aren't having to wait an inordinately long time to cross East Drive. It isn't the case that people can't cross the street."

Not much else can be done from a traffic engineering point of view, he says. If people aren't obeying the posted speed limits and respecting pedestrians in crosswalks, the issue could be addressed by law enforcement.


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