Pikesville neighbors successfully lobby for Bedford Ave improvements

PIKESVILLE, Md. — A neighborhood group is celebrating road safety improvements along Bedford Avenue after successfully lobbying Baltimore County to address crashes and pedestrian hazards.

Dan Brody, who leads the Pikesville Improvement Corporation and operates a business about two blocks from Bedford Avenue, said he had been watching the problems pile up for some time.

"I'd come down here quite frequently, seeing pedestrian issues, vehicles getting in accidents, bumper to bumpers or more severe accidents where vehicles had to be towed," Brody said.

A separate neighborhood group first contacted Brody about the concerns, which prompted the county Department of Public Works to conduct a walkthrough of the area.

"They noted some key areas that were a problem, trees inhibiting the sign and visibility, and markings on the road to help vehicles understand where to stop and where to start," Brody recalled.

The improvements include new road striping that clarifies McHenry Avenue as a two-way street, and an emboldened crosswalk near Old Court Road; between those two points sits a shopping center and senior apartments at Weinberg Terrace.

Over the summer, a mass casualty bus crash injured nearly three dozen people on nearby Reisterstown Road, further highlighting traffic concerns in the area.

"The hope is that drivers understand it's a walking community, and that the community's kind of changed. With 38,000 vehicles up the street on Reisterstown Road, we'd like to see a little bit of safety," Brody told WMAR-2 News.

"When Reisterstown Road gets backed, up we get a lot of through traffic coming through these community streets which adds to the likelihood of accidents happening," Brody added.

The county Department of Public Works is also looking at additional improvements in the area, including on nearby Sudbrook Lane and Windsor Mill Road, as well as what it describes as a long-term effort to redesign Old Court Road.

RELATED: Old Court Road crash in Pikesville underscores neighbors' safety concerns

Brody said he would also like to see a four-way stop added to the intersection to continue improving traffic safety in the area.