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.

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

Road work to begin

The blinking sign on MD 24 said that roadwork on the 24/Tollgate intersection is set to begin on/or about Dec. 8. I'm sure all the merchants are very excited that the state has picked the busiest time of the year to begin this work.
Drivers, please be careful of workers. We've seen fender benders happen at this time of year with people in a hurry and smacking into the car in front of them. Please watch out for the construction workers. It's not their fault!

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.

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.

It's Crazy Out There

I made the rounds this morning doing some last-minute shopping and it seems that most of Harford County shared that thought. Festival was especially crazy, with Constant Friendship a close second.
Thanks to Bel Air News and Views for the mention and the item about the child getting hit in front of Wal-Mart. Unfortunately, I'm not surpised at all. (Is anyone?) I am always yelling at my kids not to hang on the front of the cart and if you see a crazy mother pushing her cart while clinging to her children -- that's me.
The 4-year-old was hit in the crosswalk! Instead of greeters, Wal-Mart needs a traffic patrol.
This can happen anywhere. This a.m. I was almost taken out by an Escalade while I was trying to get into Coffee! Coffee! By the way, that Starry Night blend is absolutely delicious.
On a happier note, people not in their cars were dare I say it -- friendly! A woman in BJ's I moved just slightly for told me to have a "Blessed Day and Merry Christmas" and the Target cashier wished me "a great Christmas!"