Access Road

A proposal to build a public road between the Howard County Department of Education headquarters and its former School of Technology has been met with strong skepticism by several Howard County school board members, who question giving up land to accommodate traffic from a new, upscale development.The proposal calls for a public access road from Route 108 to a development planned for a 160-acre parcel behind the school system's headquarters, between the Gaither Farm and Manor Lane communities.

Sometimes the process does work. Sometimes the government is responsive to the citizens and everyone wins. The article in the Sept. 22 issue headlined "SHA set to begin design phase of Route 29 widening" tells only part of the story regarding the access road from Old Columbia Road to Twin Knolls Road. The residents of the affected area — the lower Wandering Way area and the three homes on Old Columbia Road — engaged in a long process with the State Highway Administration that goes back more than a year and a half.

Carroll County will not proceed with plans to build a $13 million water treatment plant on Piney Run Reservoir in Sykesville until it obtains the land it needs for an access road and pipeline. The commissioners reviewed yesterday a $477,570 contract for designing the plant, securing state construction permits and putting the work out to bid. The county legal staff has approved the contract, but the commissioners will defer approval until they have secured rights of way from residents along Hollenberry Road.

The Perryville town commissioners do their town a service by standing firm on the issue of whether the town will end up being financially responsible for a road that becomes a major truck access route for the Perry Point VA Medical Center. The federal veterans installation has been in place at Perry Point for decades, and truck access has long been a problem. As the years go by, trucks get bigger, but the space under the railroad bridges in Perryville doesn't grow. It's trucks that bring in the substantial loads of supplies needed at Perry Point, and for a number of years getting trucks under bridges and onto the facility has been a growing problem.

The Howard County Board of Appeals yesterday denied a petition from residents of Ellicott City's Gaither Farm community that challenged a county decision to permit construction of an upscale development reachable only by driving through their neighborhood.Three of the five board members voted to deny the petition; two were absent.In May, the county school board rejected the Gaither Farm Homeowners' Association's request for a second access road, which would cut through school system headquarters property.

Residents in southeast Howard County are fuming over changes made to scenic Gorman Road that were approved by the county Department of Public Works without public input -- a move they say sets an "ugly precedent" for the county's other scenic roads."

An article in yesterday's Maryland section about Union Memorial Hospital seeking to put a helipad on its roof should have said that the access road to its current helipad at Lake Montebello can still be used. However, because hospital officials must make advance arrangements to have the road opened, they say its use is limited in emergencies.

The Perryville town commissioners do their town a service by standing firm on the issue of whether the town will end up being financially responsible for a road that becomes a major truck access route for the Perry Point VA Medical Center. The federal veterans installation has been in place at Perry Point for decades, and truck access has long been a problem. As the years go by, trucks get bigger, but the space under the railroad bridges in Perryville doesn't grow. It's trucks that bring in the substantial loads of supplies needed at Perry Point, and for a number of years getting trucks under bridges and onto the facility has been a growing problem.

Four homes tucked behind my house are accessed by a long driveway/road that runs in between my house and the house next door to me. The driveway then breaks off into the four separate driveways of the four homes. I call them my backyard neighbors. Three of my four "backyard" neighbors recently indicated that their driveways were going to be redone by the builder because of water puddling and other issues (cracking, dips, etc.) and that the main access road (the main driveway) also is going to be resurfaced.

The state is kicking off this week a $19 million, two-year project to improve five bridges and roadways near the interchange of the Baltimore Beltway and Interstate 83 in Baltimore County. The project is part of the state's continuing effort to improve highway safety and prepare for expansion of the northern section of the Beltway, according to the Maryland Department of Transportation's State Highway Administration. The following bridges and roads will be affected: The Joppa Road bridge over the Beltway will be replaced with a wider and higher bridge to allow for expansion of the highway below.

It's not a huge sum of money when it comes to public works projects, which can run in to the tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars, but the $210,000 the Maryland Transportation Authority recently spent to resurface the access road for the agency's administrative building off I-95 in Perryville seems a little extravagant, given the situation. Times are tough. People are looking for work. Government budgets are tight. And it wouldn't be hard to find a list of safety improvements that need to be made on roadways in Harford and Cecil counties (Yes, we know, that money comes out of another pot)

Baltimore County police are warning of possible traffic delays in West Timonium and Lutherville on Sunday because of the Maryland Half-Marathon. Runners will be participating in the University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center race starting at 7 a.m., west of Timonium Road, until 11 a.m. Police expect some brief delays and advise drivers to take alternate routes in the West Timonium and West Lutherville area, and to use caution when...

Facing opposition from Edgewood residents, Harford County Executive David R. Craig has pulled the bill to have the county purchase Prologis Park, a 113-acre lot in Edgewood. Craig made the announcement hours before a County Council meeting Monday at which the issue would have been decided. The main goal in pursuing the purchase, administrators said, was to make room for an access road to the waste-to-energy facility at Aberdeen Proving Ground, an incinerator that burns solid waste and turns it into energy-producing steam.

Neighbors who fear that a plan to expand an energy-producing incinerator in Harford County will cause them traffic headaches won't know until later this year if their concerns will be addressed. The Harford County Council recently chose not to consider a proposal that would have required the Army, Baltimore County and the state to build a new access road from Route 24 to the Harford Waste-to-Energy Facility next to Aberdeen Proving Ground in Joppa as part of a proposed $400 million expansion project.

An article in yesterday's Maryland section about Union Memorial Hospital seeking to put a helipad on its roof should have said that the access road to its current helipad at Lake Montebello can still be used. However, because hospital officials must make advance arrangements to have the road opened, they say its use is limited in emergencies.

Throw the bums out. If not now, in January. Bring in the Prince of Darkness, Joe Steffen, to clean house at the Department of Natural Resources. If he's busy, pick another hatchet man and give him a fistful of pink slips. Any DNR official involved in creating the conflict between hunters and an upscale private resort at Savage River State Forest in Western Maryland should be on notice. Taxpaying citizens should never have to beg their government to ensure access to public land. The story is this: The owner of the Savage River Lodge in eastern Garrett County pulled strings and got DNR to post bright yellow signs prohibiting hunting in the portion of Savage River State Forest that abuts his property and the access road leading to it. Mike Dreisbach, who opened the lodge about six years ago, says some of his guests have become frightened when they encounter hunters while hiking or cross-country skiing.

Sometimes the process does work. Sometimes the government is responsive to the citizens and everyone wins. The article in the Sept. 22 issue headlined "SHA set to begin design phase of Route 29 widening" tells only part of the story regarding the access road from Old Columbia Road to Twin Knolls Road. The residents of the affected area — the lower Wandering Way area and the three homes on Old Columbia Road — engaged in a long process with the State Highway Administration that goes back more than a year and a half.

Howard County Council Chairman Darrel Drown said yesterday that the county would pay $615,000 for an access road for two schools being built off Gorman Road in North Laurel."

The River Hill High School drama department will present the Michael Frayn comedy Noises Off at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 15, 16, 17 and 18; 2 p.m. Nov. 18; and 3 p.m. Nov. 19 in the school auditorium. Drama teacher Pam Land will direct, with help from student directors Sheyda Alemzadeh, Allison Baker and Amanda Ogorzalek. Joe Blasko will direct construction of a set designed by students Mike Leon and Lauryn Fantano; a crew of more than 25 students will build the set and props. Tickets are $8 in advance; $10 at the door.

Four homes tucked behind my house are accessed by a long driveway/road that runs in between my house and the house next door to me. The driveway then breaks off into the four separate driveways of the four homes. I call them my backyard neighbors. Three of my four "backyard" neighbors recently indicated that their driveways were going to be redone by the builder because of water puddling and other issues (cracking, dips, etc.) and that the main access road (the main driveway) also is going to be resurfaced.