Veirs Mill Road Gets New Traffic Signal

After , Connecticut Avenue Estates has finally convinced Maryland's State Highway Administration to put in a traffic signal at Veirs Mill and Claridge Road. 

With a steep hill on Veirs Mill that ends near Claridge, a bus stop that brings more pedestrian traffic to the area, and two schools--St. Catherine Laboure and Highland Elementary--that use the road as a main access point, residents of the nearby Connecticut Avenue Estates said that the danger to pedestrians, as well as drivers, was too great not to have a traffic signal. 

On Monday evening, a car hit two pedestrians as they were getting off a bus three intersections north of Claridge on Veirs Mill.

After a "close call" decision not to add a signal in 2009, State Highway Administration spokesperson David Buck said a review of the intersection's data this year by SHA's engineers finally tipped the scales towards a full signal.

"We’re still concerned about the grade in the road, but we’re convinced that if we sign [it] properly, it will work." Buck said, adding that it was going to be very important  to make sure the signals at Newport Mill Road and Connecticut Avenue would be integrated with the new signal, in order to promote the flow of traffic.

It also helped that District 18 legislators got involved. Del. Al Carr said he had constituents contact him several years ago about the issue.

"I’ve been trying to help the community get their voices heard by SHA." Carr said.

He and fellow Delegates Waldstreicher and Gutierrez and Sen. Rich Madaleno wrote a letter to SHA in mid-April, asking them to hold off work on a planned pedestrian project at the intersection until they met with the community. 

At that meeting on May 20, SHA said they would be going ahead with the red light at the intersection.

While the full light won't be installed until mid-2012, State Highway Administration will continue the original pedestrian starting in June, including moving the bus stops and installing a hazard beacon above the intersection. When pedestrians press a button at the intersection, a sign of each side of Veirs Mill Road will flash "pedestrians ahead when flashing.”

The red light will be added to this setup. 

The hazard beacon and other pedestrian changes will start in June and be finished likely by September.