CATONSVILLE, Md. — After nine crashes into one Catonsville homeowner's yard in two years, Baltimore County says the road now qualifies for speed humps. But before they can be installed, the homeowner must rally support from her neighbors.
Krista Cantafio, who lives along the sharp curve on Kenwood Avenue near Wilkens Avenue, will need to collect signatures from 75 percent of the property owners within the project limits before the county can move forward. Officials are still finalizing the design and have not yet said exactly how many signatures she'll need.
The latest crash happened just last week, when a car left the roadway and stopped a few feet away from Cantafio's front door.
"You know it was 2 o'clock in the afternoon, I could've been out there cutting the grass, working in the garden, it was definitely eye opening," Cantafio said.
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From above, drone footage shows how drivers who don't slow down on the sharp curve can end up off the road. Over the past year, Baltimore County installed rumble strips and updated signage, but crashes have continued.
Cantafio said the danger extends beyond her property.
"It's not just me affected, it's the entire community. People don't ride their bikes down there, they don't let their children down there, other cars are afraid to make that turn, it affects everyone in the neighborhood," Cantafio said.
After WMAR-2 News Mallory Sofastaii's initial report on the crashes, the county conducted another month-long traffic study. Ron Snyder, a spokesperson for the Baltimore County Department of Public Works & Transportation, said engineers weighed multiple factors before recommending speed humps.
"Speed along the road, traffic, a number of crashes, volume, pedestrian traffic, the availability of sidewalks, and so forth, and all those factors are taken into consideration and our engineers then will determine what would be the best course of action," Snyder said.
When asked why a stop sign or guardrail wasn't considered, the county said the intersecting street doesn't have the traffic volumes necessary to warrant a stop sign. Officials also said guardrails are designed to shield fixed hazards or road drop-offs, which they say are not present at this location.
"The next step in the process is for the residents to gather enough signatures, which would be 75 percent of those that would be adjacent to any speed humps we would put in to approve it," Snyder said.
Sofastaii also asked why homeowners, rather than the county, are responsible for gathering signatures.
The county said its Neighborhood Traffic Management Program is resident-driven, and because requests originate from property owners, neighborhoods must demonstrate support before projects can move forward. Officials said the requirement has been part of Baltimore County's traffic calming policy for more than 20 years and is intended to ensure measures like speed humps have the backing of the residents most directly affected.
"Which I don't really understand since I don't work for the county but I'll do what I have to do," Cantafio said.
And she said support from neighbors has already been encouraging.
"It's very emotional because people have stopped by. 'I'm so sorry. Oh, it's happened once or twice?' I'm like, No, this is number 9. 'Oh my gosh, I had no idea.' You know, the time before, neighbors came running down to try to help me and support us, so the support has been, it's been great," Cantafio said.
Once she receives instructions from the county, Cantafio will have 90 days to collect enough signatures. If the petition is successful, the county will finalize the design and schedule the project as funding becomes available. The county says it does not expect funding to be an issue if the petition is approved.
Installation will then depend on contractor availability. If the petition is not approved, the county has vowed to work with Cantafio on finding another solution.
In the meantime, the county says it has refreshed the rumble strips and plans to add more warning signs. And Cantafio recently spent $2,200 restoring her yard after the latest crash. Now she's hoping it's the last time she'll have to pay to repair damage caused by a car leaving the road.
Any resident can request a traffic safety review online through Baltimore County's Neighborhood Traffic Management Program. If a road doesn't qualify for speed humps or other traffic-calming devices, residents can still request options such as speed display signs or targeted traffic enforcement through their local police precinct.
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