PERRY HALL, Md. — A busy Perry Hall intersection is getting a traffic light following multiple crashes and months of debate over how to improve safety along Honeygo Boulevard.
Baltimore County settled on a traffic light at the intersection after weighing it against a roundabout, with speed and cost driving the decision. The money is already allocated in the budget, and the project is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Councilman David Marks, who represents east Baltimore County, said the intersection has long been a problem.
"Well this is one of the busiest intersections in northeast Baltimore County. There have been multiple crashes here," Marks said.
Cars routinely exceed the posted 40 miles per hour speed limit along Honeygo Boulevard. The curve near the intersection creates visibility challenges for drivers leaving nearby neighborhoods or crossing the road.
Growth in neighborhoods along the road, combined with increased use of Honeygo Boulevard as a route to Interstate 95, has added to traffic volume over the years.
Marks said the road was never built with the surrounding communities in mind.
"Honeygo Blvd was designed to push traffic through. It was built in the late 1990s. We carry a lot of Harford County traffic now. It was not designed quite frankly for the communities in mind," Marks said.
The community was divided between a traffic light and a roundabout. Marks said a roundabout may be the better long-term solution, but the timeline and land acquisition requirements made it impractical in the near term.
"Everyone has an opinion about traffic safety. Some people wanted a light, some people wanted a roundabout. A roundabout is probably the best option here but it would take the longest, you would have to acquire a significant amount of land so a traffic light gets done within the next few months," Marks said.
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