Improvement Study On Ritchie Highway Raises Questions

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The stretch of Route 2 Ritchie Highway that goes through Severna Park and Arnold from Earleigh Heights Road to Route 50 measures approximately 8 miles. Making that drive in less than a half-hour, however, even with the 45 mph speed limit, is nearly impossible during peak traffic times. “What used to be a rather short commute from Severna Park to Annapolis has gotten worse over the last decade,” said Owen McEvoy, spokesman for the office of County Executive Steve Schuh.

Such congestion is one of the reasons that Anne Arundel County sought collaboration with the state of Maryland to undertake a feasibility study of Route 2, as well as Route 3 in Crofton, and find a way to alleviate the chokeholds that have sometimes caused backups for miles around them – they are, as McEvoy put it, “nightmares for the county.”

Neither McEvoy nor Erin Henson, director of public affairs for the Maryland Department of Transportation, could estimate how long the feasibility study will take, but they agreed in the hope that the study would provide a guide for how best to invest money and effort in adding another lane to Ritchie so that the approximately 80,000 cars that traverse it daily can move along more quickly and smoothly.

Not all community members, however, are as enthusiastic about the idea of expanding Ritchie Highway as a solution to the traffic problem.

Although the Greater Severna Park Council (GSPC) has not taken a position at this time, President Maureen Carr-York explained that this is not the first time the issue has come up. “In the past, there has been opposition to making Ritchie Highway three lanes all the way up and down because it will change the character of the road,” she said.

To illustrate, she referred to the history of Ritchie Highway: When it was built in the 1930s, it was “a lovely sort of parkway” that went through largely open country. “Talk to some of the older folks who remember what a beautiful drive it was,” Carr-York explained. “Then things started to build up along it. It changed drastically. No one would say it’s now a pleasant drive.”

Despite the frustrations that she acknowledged nearly all commuters experience while traversing Ritchie – and the need to do something to address the problem – she said there is concern on the part of many Severna Park residents that expanding Ritchie Highway and turning it into a road geared toward high-speed travel will change the character of the community around it. Additionally, widening the road might require cutting into the front yards of homes or the parking lots of businesses that line the street.

The GSPC has requested a member of the state’s study group or an appointed official supervising the study to come speak at one of its meetings early in 2019 with the hope that this will give people a better idea of what options the state is considering.

But an overall lack of transparency has frustrated the Arnold Preservation Council (APC). “I have repeatedly asked the State Highway Administration what their vision is for the future of Ritchie Highway,” said Vice President Elizabeth Rosborg. “According to SHA, there are no plans to do any work on Ritchie Highway. This was a big shock to me when we got [this announcement] from the county. There has been no communication before or since with APC from the county or the state.”

Rosborg said her frustration stems from APC’s interest in being involved and part of the process. “We are the ones who not only deal with it now every day but will be directly affected by anything they propose as a result of this study,” she explained.

She pointed out that I-97 was built to relieve Ritchie Highway traffic but has not done so. “In my personal opinion, adding a third lane is not going to relieve the traffic on the Broadneck peninsula,” she said.

Both Carr-York and Rosborg acknowledge that Ritchie Highway’s traffic is a problem for residents and needs to be relieved. But as more forested and open areas in Severna Park and Arnold are cleared to make room for new homes, it adds more traffic to already busy roadways. “If you’re adding vehicles, you’re either adding them to Ritchie Highway or you’re adding them to secondary roads,” Rosborg said.

Carr-York hopes to see the state “balance the interest of those who want to get up and down Ritchie Highway quickly with the interests of those who want to keep a little more green and a quiet environment.” Widening Ritchie Highway could create a more urbanized environment where grass and trees have been replaced by asphalt. “Most residents of Severna Park and Arnold don’t want to invite that into our community because it bisects our community,” Carr-York said.

Although any solution to Ritchie Highway, according to McEvoy, will likely be several years in the making, the councils hope to keep their fingers to the pulse of the project from the very early stages and want to see the state consider the interests of residents as much as it does the needs of transportation. “I have great sympathy with both points of view,” Carr-York emphasized. “I hope the state will address all of these concerns in its study.”

Ritchie Highway, Owen McEvoy, traffic

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