Traffic Patterns

Traffic patterns on southbound Interstate 97 at Route 100 will change tomorrow.Motorists who have been using exit lanes on the left to eastbound Route 100 will exit from the right lanes, starting about 8 p.m. Drivers continuing south toward Annapolis will use the left lanes.In addition, the one-lane ramps from eastbound and westbound Route 176 to southbound Interstate 97 will be closed at 7 p.m. The lanes will reopen at 5 a.m. Thursday.

The Harford County Department of Public Works has announced a change in the direction of traffic flow for Patterson Mill Road. Effective on or about Wednesday, Feb. 13, the one-way traffic flow on Patterson Mill Road will be reversed and traffic will be able to drive from the bottom of Patterson Mill Road toward Wheel Road. Traffic will no longer be permitted to enter Patterson Mill Road from Wheel Road. Because of some confusion with the current one-way traffic flow, this change in direction is warranted and will have the added benefit of reducing the response time to the Cedar Day community from the Patterson Mill fire substation.

State Highway Administration engineers will discuss their decision to alter traffic patterns around Glen Burnie High School at a forum next Wednesday.The town meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. at the Glen Burnie Improvement Association Hall. For several years, area residents have been seeking more comprehensive traffic safety near the 1,890-student school, and the state's agreement to go ahead with some changes is considered a victory for community activists.SHA plans to install a traffic light at the intersection of Baltimore-Annapolis Boulevard and Glen Road.

I woke up Labor Day morning after Baltimore's IndyCar race and opened the paper thinking I'd see great headlines and stories about what a fantastic party and sports spectacle we hosted, especially given there was so little time to properly prepare for it ("After Grand Prix of Baltimore, crews hustle to clear downtown streets," Sept. 3). Instead, what I read was negativity from the first paragraph: "A sloppy race full of fits and starts before a diminished crowd. " Well, if it was diminished, the people crammed into the stands around us didn't realize that - and these were people from around the country who came to Baltimore just to see this race.

The Fourth of July celebration tomorrow at Carroll County Farm Museum in Westminster will cause traffic patterns to change and parking restrictions to go into effect for the day.The event will be from noon to dusk. Fireworks will begin at 9:30 p.m.Those who attend may tune radios to WTTR-AM 1470 for traffic reports before and after the fireworks.Museum and volunteer parkers, fire departments, and state and city police told organizers that last year they had the least amount of trouble emptying the parking lot because of the radio broadcast, said Dottie Freeman, administrator at Carroll County Farm Museum.

To ease traffic after Carroll County Farm Museum's July Fourth celebration and fireworks Sunday night, the following traffic patterns and parking restrictions will be in effect:Center Street and Kate Wagner Road will close at 8: 45 p.m. to incoming traffic.No parking along Center Street, Gist Road or Kate Wagner Road will be permitted.All traffic leaving the museum lot will use two lanes and be directed out Center Street toward Route 140. Vehicles will be allowed to turn left onto Green Street and Main Street or proceed to Route 140.East Main Street and Green Street will be closed to through traffic between South Center Street and Washington Road.

After nearly five years of lobbying, residents near Glen Burnie High School finally saw the payoff this week when state officials unveiled a plan to change the traffic patterns around the 1,940-student school."

WHY IS THE NEW Midtown Community Plan a must-read document? Because it challenges all the traffic arrangements that have choked the Charles, St. Paul and Calvert Street corridors since the 1950s. And because it proposes radically different traffic patterns to make the area more livable. The Midtown Community Plan, drafted by Charles B. Duff Jr., recommends de-emphasizing St. Paul street as a southbound thoroughfare. Instead, it spells out ways to use the Jones Falls Expressway more efficiently and seeks to divert more downtown-bound commuter traffic to Guilford and Greenmount avenues.

The Baltimore Department of Transportation is advising motorists of street closures and other traffic restrictions around the Pimlico Race Course before and after tomorrow's running of the Preakness Stakes, and officials are warning anyone traveling in Northwest Baltimore to expect delays and to seek alternate routes. Officials are urging people who attend the race to park in commercial lots or use public transportation. Special traffic patterns - including making two-way streets one-way - are in effect through 8 p.m. Saturday on 14 roads around the track, including Rogers, Winner, Sulgrave, Rusk and Woodcrest avenues.

This 100-year-old Baltimore County farmhouse has always been warm and homey. The current owners, however, found that they needed more room, and better traffic patterns throughout the house. The dining room had become control central, that organizational hub where meals are planned, bills paid and gatherings orchestrated.To the rescue came architect Jeffrey Penza of Penza Baukhages Architects. His solution: a kitchen addition that also included a substantial mudroom to provide an axis for traffic control, as well as a butler's pantry, a family room and, most important of all, a small office area.

The new configuration of the confluence of Tollgate Road, Route 24, I-95 and Route 924 is something of a minor marvel of modern engineering. It's probably what should have been built back when the plan was simply to build the modern incarnation of the new Route 24 to replace the old 24, now known as 924. Still, better late than never. The multimillion dollar project, which has been in use for several weeks, is regarded by the Maryland State Highway Administration as a success because it seems to have resolved the problem of the rush hour back-ups of northbound traffic on I-95 at the Route 24 exit.

The 26th-floor Terrace Club of 100 E. Pratt St. offers a bird's-eye view of the straights of the Baltimore Grand Prix racecourse. A menu, featuring assorted hot entrees, pastries, eggs, salads and mini sandwiches, has been planned. And 200 guests have been invited for breakfast and lunch parties on Saturday and Sunday. Guests of St. John Properties' private party in the traveling exhibit section of the Baltimore Science Center will get an eye-popping vantage point of racecars as they dart past.

The State Highway Administration is taking another crack at the Towson roundabout — aiming to improve safety and traffic flow at an intersection that has bedeviled engineers for decades. The agency said it will launch a $632,000 project at the roundabout in the heart of the downtown area Tuesday, requiring a series of lane closings that will continue through late summer. The SHA said this round of work, unlike previous projects, is not intended to fix something wrong but to make permanent some of the changes it got right in 2008.

The problem: Motorists fail to follow a new traffic pattern on a Baltimore County roadway. The back story: You can take a lane away, but that doesn't mean that drivers will obey. Eastbound Green Summit Road off Greenspring Avenue narrows from two lanes to one lane between Diana Road and Diamond Crest Court. It widens again to two lanes just east of Diamond Crest. But the remains of the old, dashed white lane stripes are still visible, and two signs prior to the lane shift don't call enough attention to the new pattern, said Gail Zlotowitz, who drives on that street on her way home from work.

The problem: Why is a lane of a busy downtown Baltimore street closed to traffic during the evening rush? The back story: Charlie Dell has had plenty of time to observe what's been slowing down traffic along Franklin Street just east of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. For more than a month, the Catonsville resident noticed that the southernmost lane of westbound Franklin has been blocked off to allow drivers to enter and exit a garage between Paca and Greene streets near the Social Security Administration building.

The Lisbon Volunteer Fire Co., 1330 Route 94, will hold a "Quarter Auction" fundraiser on Saturday. Doors will open at 2 p.m., and the auction will start at 3 p.m. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door; no refunds. Each person who purchases a ticket will receive $10 in quarters and a bidding paddle. Information: Judy Gue, 240-674-1961. around town New traffic patterns : The State Highway Administration has opened three roundabouts and two new ramps along Route 32. Traffic signals have been removed at Pfefferkorn and Ten Oaks roads.

BALTIMORE Fire damages church during block party on Oliver Street A two-alarm fire damaged the Mount Zion Church of God in Christ during a community block party yesterday afternoon. A fenced-off section outside the two-story rowhouse church in the 2500 block of Oliver St. was being used for the party about 2:30 p.m. when somebody noticed smoke billowing from the church and called 911, said Chief Kevin Cartwright, a Fire Department spokesman. Residents and church members watched in disbelief as firefighters sprayed the building.

The long-planned transformation of downtown Towson into a more pedestrian-friendly retail and restaurant hub is to begin tonight with modifications to the traffic patterns at the roundabout and on York Road between the circle and Towsontown Boulevard, the State Highway Administration said. The modifications will expand the roundabout's oval-shaped island, reduce part of the circle to a single lane and eliminate some entrances and exits. The changes are intended to reduce speed, give drivers clearer direction and make the roundabout safer for pedestrians, officials said.

The River Hill Community Association is holding a "Helping Our Heroes" donation drive. Donations will be accepted at Claret Hall and distributed to wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Hospital. Prepaid phone cards, electric shavers, clothing, digital video discs and other items are needed. The River Hill Community Association is working with the Soldier Family Assistance Center to collect the items. Information: Mary Harris, 410-531-1749. The community association's breakfast/lunch with Santa will be held from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. (breakfast)

The Clarksville Rotary Club will sponsor a fundraiser, "Baubles & Bling and Holiday Things" from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday at a new restaurant, scheduled to open soon, The Fat Duck of Highland. The event will benefit Howard County General Hospital's pediatric ward. The event will feature wine-tasting with 21 different wines, jewelry and hors d'oeuvres by chef Brian Boston of The Milton Inn, who will open The Fat Duck. Tickets are $50. Information or to purchase tickets: Ashley Kreh, of Wilhide's Flowers, 410-465-3434.