What the expletive expletive expletive

We tried to be hopeful about the new traffic pattern but after almost facing mortality up close tonight after encountering a traffic barrel in the road on newly divided highway we have really had it.
What insane group of highly paid consultants designed this cluster expletive expletive. No one is using the highly touted bridge to Bel Air except to bypass the now --and one would guess forever-- jam packed conditions at the Tollgate/Emmorton Road "exit" of 24 to make an illegal u-turn.
Since the new traffic pattern emerged we have personally experienced the following:
** sideswiped while trying to "merge" onto traffic speeding down the hill on 24 to exit at 95 south. Merging out of Constant Friendship there is nowhere to go except into the line of traffic trying merge over and presumably kill you.
** watched numerous people try to drive over the median to get to the Tollgate Road area.
*** saw someone run into barrel dividing the new area.
*** watched dozens and dozens of vehicles come up the hill on 24 and make an illegal u-turn at the light at Singer to get to Walmart/Target, etc.
*** traffic backed up to Crisfield Drive from the light at Constant Friendship.
So who was this designed for? Not for the thousands and thousands of Wegman's customers who are forced to take the Tollgate exit and block all the lanes coming down the hill at Emmorton Road to try to get to 95.
Definitely not, as if anything is ever built to benefit the residents of Abingdon Ha!, for those of us here in Abingdon.
Who to complain to? Joe Woods? David Craig? The MTA? Who cares? It's done. I guess we should just say thank you that they didn't just bulldoze us out of here for the convenience of people trying to get out of Bel Air.

Restaurant opening?

Pelican Pete's, located in what briefly was the Country Kitchen, appears to be opening soon, with a sign out reading just that. The owner, received tentative liquor license approval all the way back in October 2009, was required to report to the liquor board every 30 days after a meeting in May when the liquor board threatened to revoke the license because of the stalled opening.
The project has been much delayed, but we are hoping that the end result will be a vast improvement from the dismal restaurant that inhabited the space previously.

You Know What's Funny?

Receiving a call from Harford County advising patience when driving this evening because of congestion on MD 24 and Tollgate Road.
From our vantage point here at 7:45 p.m. we can see that the traffic is still crawling out of Constant Friendship Blvd. Now certainly this couldn't have been a surprise to anyone, it being a few hours before Christmas. But did the county do anything to prepare for this gridlock? No. They couldn't have just checked to see if maybe the traffic lights were synched? They couldn't have assigned a traffic patrol there earlier today, before the problem started?
We'd like to say that we are hopeful for the future. That when the construction is complete there will be an end to the congestion, which is a daily event, not something just saved for a special occasion. But the new traffic pattern will not address the real problem that the county, in its foresight when giving its blessing to the center failed to address. There's only one way in, and one way out.
So to those people who fought the proposed outlet mall that would have had its own entrance onto Interstate 95 and are probably long gone from Abingdon, we'd like to say thank you very much, and Merry Christmas.

September 25-24/Tollgate Nightmare Begins

Maybe one of our smarter readers can explain another way to get into Constant Friendship. Our advice: don't go to Walmart/Target/BJs.
Here's the link that "explains" why this is going to help everyone!
Read it and weep here

Crime Wave-Update

Thanks to the anonymous commenter who passed on some info about a suspicious person. But we here at TAA had enough journalism law classes to know that we can't print someone's name and accuse him of being a drug dealer. We can however, report suspicious activity. So if you happen to see a white male in his 20s walking back and forth from Stone Mill Court to the pool on Crisfield Drive and back again pay attention. This is during the day and he seems to be a known entity to those looking for drugs.
To the anonymous commenter who seems positive he's a dealer, just wondering if you called the sheriff's department? Wondering what they said. We here at TAA have been know to spend some time at the pool and we will be on the lookout.

UPDATE: Thanks to the anonymous commenter for this additional information. This suspect has been reported to the police, even videotaped which was turned into the sheriff's department, but so far nothing has been done. Thanks to the vigilance of the commenter for doing the right thing and we hope that readers will also now be on the lookout.
We personally are wondering why the sheriff's department has not done anything about this yet, after multiple complaints.

Surprising Movie News

Happy movie news for those who like their movies just a little outside the mainstream. "Slumdog Millionaire" will be coming to Regal in Constant Friendship this Friday. We've been checking the listings hoping for this one because it's already won a Golden Globe and has the Oscar buzz. We are also fans of director Danny Boyle. "Millions" is now in rotation on one of the million Encore networks if you haven't seen it.
To check movie times, click here.

For Sale

It's official. Country Kitchen is closed and is sporting a brand new for sale sign out front.
Can a good restaurant please buy it? We'd personally vote for Eat N' Park.

TAA Represents

As readers you can tell we're not working for daily newspapers anymore as it's taken us an entire week to report on the community meeting for the new Constant Friendship development adjacent to Target that was held June 5 at the Ramada. But here at TAA we did attend the meeting, which consisted of many concerned community members.
Not really.
Just your TAA correspondent.
So TAA received firsthand all the info. The four buildings are planned for service uses. One confirmed is a daycare center, another not-quite-yet confirmed addition is a ballet studio.
They are not planning on taking additional trees, as most of the area has already been cleared. The design of the buildings will be similar to those of the new buildings near WaWa on 924.
TAA voiced the traffic concerns and that the additional buildings would cause even more chaos. TAA also expressed happiness that it was not another storage facility (which developers did not seem amused by) but that it was going to be for local service people.
Also overhead at meeting, the lot near BJ's that was recently auctioned off was bought by a local hotel/motel developer, but that the Constant Friendship property is not going to be for a hotel/motel.
Developers also seemed to be in the dark about the work on the 24/Tollgate Road intersection that stopped unexpectedly. He said the state made him take down the large sign, cleared trees, and then left. It is still planned. But did the money run out?

And We're Back

We at TAA apologize for taking an unexpected break from the blog. Thanks to our loyal reader(s) who asked what we were doing and asked us to write.
The break resulted from happy occasions (hurrah to a certain Edgewood High School graduate wandering around OC this week) and sad (a small victim of a 5th disease outbreak at Abingdon Elementary -- and yes -- you can have a high fever with it!)
We can't write much today, as TAA's full-time job is preventing it in part because TAA is finding it difficult working with "off-shored" new colleagues with a completely opposite schedule (you know, they're on Indian time).
We do have enough time to give a shout-out to Edgewood graduates and a nice graduation ceremony.
Also, congratulations to all the Harford Ballet Company for excellent performances on Saturday/Sunday, especially Shana O'Brian who choreographed a new piece to "Rhapsody in Blue." Really exciting to watch.
And special praise goes to TAA's own "bluebird" who performed outstandingly while having 5th disease. (She wasn't contagious! Don't worry!)
Don't forget the upcoming meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Ramada Conference Center to discuss the Constant Friendship zoning. We are hoping to attend, but because all of our plans in the last week have changed, we can't make any promises.
There also are some new comments on the Plumtree post. It looks like there are actually at least 3 parcels being discussed. Check it out.

Constant Friendship: A Troubling Development

In case you missed it, in last Wednesday's Aegis there was a notice of a community input meeting concerning Constant Friendship Lot 3. Although they had a county url in there to get more information, I couldn't find anything on the county Web site so I e-mailed them. I got a call from someone from the county, and she said they hadn't been yet notified about the meeting. I told her I was concerned about the increasing traffic and she said, "You know, all that was decided in 1987."
Today I received an e-mail response from Frederick Ward Associates, who sent me a PDF of the development. While I thought it might be another building behind Target because of the location, I was shocked at what I saw. It's not one building, but FOUR, with a huge parking lot. It is equally as big as the Target site, and it will use the same access road, on Arundel Court (the back entrance to Wal-Mart, first entrance to Target)
Once we figure out how to post the PDF, we will.
The meeting is set for 6 p.m. June 5 at the Ramada Conference Center in Edgewood. If you'd like more information, contact Kevin Small at ksmall@fredward.com or 410.838.7900.
While I understand that we need businesses -- don't we also need a way to get in and out of them safely? And how long must we hear everything was decided on 20 years ago?

Constant Friendship Box Store Update

A sign at Constant Friendship now proclaims a Mattress Giant will be the new neighbor to PetSmart and Lowe's. In the bad news department, aforementioned sign has 3 blank spaces for additional businesses. I guess we'll have to wait until those are filled in to find out what's coming.

Forest Hills Flap

Over at Bel Air News & Views there's been a lot of discussion about the proposed Kohl's. At the risk of drawing the ire of those trying to block it, I will be very upset if the county does a double take and decides to deny construction.
As the few previous TAA posts detail, the lots in Constant Friendship were decided on in 1987 -- and although they said signs were posted for the PetSmart, there were none giving residents any warning of what it was. We still don't know for sure what's going in across from it, just that some huge, ugly box store is being built.
If the Kohl's is blocked, it will be a direct slap in the face of the Abingdon community. It will make us here at TAA believe that Forest Hill residents are listened to because they have higher property values. (BTW, Councilwoman Chenowith -- still waiting on your reply)
If it is blocked, it will be interesting to hear what lame reasons the county council gives for blocking it. I bet it will have something to do "with the children."

Constant Friendship: Been There, Done That

A concerned citizen and loyal friend received another reply from TPTB (transportation planning) in the county when she questioned the validity of a study completed in 1987. But as you'll see, they have done something more recently. Only not in this century!

Thank you again for your comments regarding the development and traffic issues at Constant Friendship.The Constant Friendship development is grandfathered because lots were recorded and approved prior to the establishment of Adequate Public Facilities (APF) for roads. The development of these lots has been phased in over the years. As we mentioned before, a traffic study was done for the Constant Friendship Area, including the residential component, and road improvements identified in that study are currently in place. The developer of Constant Friendship has met the traffic requirements in accordance with the policy that was in place in 1987.

In 1998 a traffic study was done for the Constant Friendship townhouse development south of Singer Road and west of Tollgate Road. The study was required because these townhouses were not approved in the original Constant Friendship Plan. Road improvements were identified at that time and have been constructed. The intersection of Tollgate Road and Constant Friendship Blvd was not analyzed in this traffic study because under the APF guidelines only intersecting collectors or higher functional classification roads are studied based on definitions of roads in the Harford County Transportation Plan. Constant Friendship Blvd is not a functional classified roadway. However, Harford County’s Department of Public Works has modified the Constant Friendship Blvd traffic pattern in recent years as well as intersection capacity improvements at Tollgate Road and Constant Friendship Blvd.

Her response, and I heartily concur, "That's just silly." Why don't they just say they're not going to do anything instead of making excuses?

Here at TAA we wonder what qualifies as a "high functioning road." We're also questioning what improvements were made to that intersection -- was it the jersey barrier left on the bridge before the intersection that people crashed into and then one day just disappeared? Or is it the "sticks" in the road when you're making a right hand turn onto Rte. 24 from Tollgate that are constantly replaced because people keeping running them over?

Constant Friendship Blvd.: 1987 Edition

Thanks to a concerned citizen and friend, I have an answer to my traffic study question! She e-mailed the planning and zoning department and received this helpful answer below:

Thank you for your email regarding land use and traffic concerns along Constant Friendship Boulevard. Constant Friendship received approval for full build out prior to the establishment of Harford County’s Adequate Public Facilities (APF). However, a traffic study for the project was prepared by The RBA Group in June of 1987. All road improvements required in that traffic study are in place.
In addition, the Maryland Transportation Authority (MdTA) is planning improvements to the traffic patterns in that area by reconstructing the I-95/MD 24 interchange and reconstructing the intersection of MD 24/MD 924/Tollgate Road with a grade separated intersection. The improvements to the MD24/MD924 intersection should begin this year, hopefully as early as June. This project is proposed to alleviate the traffic issues at Constant Friendship Boulevard and Tollgate Road. The site, however, is physically constrained from providing an additional access into the development.
All of the lots along Constant Friendship Boulevard were approved as part of the original plan for the area. Under Harford County’s Subdivision Approval Procedure, all large-scale developments proposed for that area must be reviewed by the Development Advisory Committee (DAC). According to Section 5.03 (c) of the Harford County Subdivision Regulation, a notice is posted on the property at least 2 weeks prior to a DAC meeting with the date, time and location of the meeting and telephone number of the Department of Planning and Zoning. The regulations require that the notice be conspicuously placed on the property along the frontage near the right of way with a sign measuring 22-inches by 28-inches and with red lettering. I realize that it can be difficult to read the specifics of the sign as you drive by, so please do not hesitate to contact our Development Review Section to get more information about the project being proposed.


This would be funny if it wasn't so sad/discouraging. Think back to 1987. For those of us who didn't live here then, someone filled me in on what the neighborhood was like:
No Wal-Mart
No Constant Friendship townhomes, Dominion apartments
No Abingdon Elementary School (or neighboring townhouses)
Tollgate Road did not go through, stopped at Singer Road (no Monmouth Meadows)--in fact when this person bought her house, they said Tollgate would NEVER be a through-road.
Only development: Constant Branch


Also, were those signs for the new stores posted in 1987? I remember the sign for Lowe's, but never saw a sign for the pet store.

Feel free to add your comments below. And I guess the message from the county is this: there's nothing you can do, because it was all mapped out 21 years ago.

Traffic Question..no answers

Here's part of an inquiry I sent to my county councilwoman in February. I just resent in hopes of a reply. In case anyone from the county is reading this, could you please answer?

Dear Mrs. Chenowith,

I’m writing now because of some traffic concerns at the Constant Friendship business area – Target, BJ’s, etc. The traffic is getting increasingly worse and I see that two more lots are up for sale. My question is in two parts.

First, the new, what I believe to be a pet store and possibly a Best Buy are being built right now. I’m saying I think, because I’ve been trying to find out what businesses are going there. I missed any sort of hearings for these businesses – or were these approved a long time ago? Is there a place on the county Web site, without knowing the zoning permit numbers or whose purchasing the land, that I could find out what’s going where?

The second part of the question is I would like to know if any traffic studies are being done on this area? The traffic on the weekends is heavy and it is very difficult to exit from the businesses. For example, if you’re taking the lower exit out of Target, you have cars coming up and down Constant Friendship Blvd., cars coming out of Lowe’s and cars coming out of Chik-Fil-A. It’s very difficult to gauge who’s coming out from where. It’s a miracle there are not more accidents just at this one spot. With the two new businesses being added to the Lowe’s site, this situation will only worsen.

I know this is a big tax base for the county, but we here in Abingdon are suffering the most from the increased number of businesses. I guess my question is threefold – is there any end in sight to the building over there?

That's it -- I just resent, because obviously I now know that the big blue sign is for a pet store (its light pollution now coming through my trees). So if anyone has any answers, please write!

Addition & Clarification. We here at TAA love some of the businesses in Constant Friendship and frequent them more than we probably should (yes, we're talking about you, Target) but my question in the letter is about the traffic pattern, and the continuous adding of businesses without consideration to how people exit from these new facilities. The letter was questioning whether this was being looked at by the county. Not that I've gotten an answer.
And please keep our arguments/comments friendly ones!

Still no Sit-Down Restaurant?

Rumor has it that a new Best Buy will be making its home next to the new pet store in Constant Friendship. I was wondering if there had been any traffic studies of the area? That section where Lowe's is now is becoming increasingly more dangerous, and adding two box stores doesn't seem like a good idea. Also, I'm wondering what the parking capacity has to be for such huge stores. The parking lot gets smaller and smaller.

Back to Normal at Wal-Mart

Being mad at the Constant Friendship Target about the Wii fiasco has thrown off my whole week. I've been trying to branch out to other venues, but now I remember why I was so faithful in the first place.
This a.m. after I put the kids on the bus I ran over to Wal-Mart because I needed to get a birthday present for a party my daughter is attending this weekend. I parked close to the door and believed this was a good sign.
Shopping is much more pleasant since the remodel. The aisles are wider, it's easier to find things. It looks cleaner.
I was even humming a Christmas carol when I lined up at the register.
That's when it started.
I was in a long line. 3 registers were open. A cashier zipped behind me and helpfully told the elderly people at the back of the line she would help them next. This is a pet peeve of mine. Customer service at people at Wal-Mart never speak to me, because I don't fit the elderly demographic. Which, now that I think about it, kind of makes me happy. This happened 3 times while I was in line, but I thought I'd stick it out in my line because I was already committed. 15 minutes later, my goods were being checked out, but wait, the main purpose of the trip, a lovely Sleeping Beauty Disney Princess, was not in the system. It would not ring up. The cashier called the toy department. Nobody called back. She called again. Nobody called back. She called a manager, who ambled over and took the doll to customer service. Customer service couldn't find it the number and spent a lot of time examining the box. This wasn't an obscure item. It was a Disney Princess. They called the toy department. 20 minutes later, they decided to manually input the price.
Then I made the mistake of asking for a gift receipt.
This proved impossible! They couldn't do that! So I said Enough. You got me. I've got to get out of here. I thanked the very patient lady behind me and the cashier. The manager was mean to her. It wasn't her fault.
The woman behind me mentioned the Wal-Mart commercials where all the cashiers are playing Christmas music with their register lights. She summed it up best, "I guess they didn't see that commercial here."

A Wal-Mart Surprise

Usually I'm not a fan of the Constant Friendship Wal-Mart. Too difficult to park, too crowded, too dirty. But I must say, my trip today wasn't terrible. Which is a vast improvement over many of my visits.
In case you haven't stopped by in the last month, they've completely remodeled the clothing sections. They've widened the aisles, posted better signage and added more clothing options. It's also much cleaner.
The staff is still working on the food and pharmacy section, which made it too difficult to really see what they were adding. But I did manage to note a larger refrigerated section with more frozen/refrigerated foods. Also added were at least several more aisles of dried and canned goods.
And just in time for Christmas, they've enlarged the toy section, which is now in the back of the store. I was always surprised at how small the previous toy selection was, so they seem to have remedied this.
It will still take more to get me away from Target, but it's encouraging that they're trying to improve.