Letter To The Editor

Dear editor,

The intersection of southbound Ritchie Highway and Baltimore Annapolis Boulevard in Arnold, located about a quarter-mile north of the intersection with Arnold Road, is dangerous.

A new right-hand lane appears at that intersection on the southbound side. There is a “Do Not Drive on Shoulder” sign and the shoulder’s diagonal painted lines, however, there is no physical barrier preventing highway drivers from moving onto the shoulder prior to the intersection to access the new right-hand lane early. Doing so cuts through the path of right-turning vehicles entering the highway from Baltimore Annapolis Boulevard.

A physical barrier needs to be put in place to prevent highway drivers from entering that shoulder. The intersection has a history of accidents between cars on the highway and right-turning cars entering the highway. One of them was mine; a Maryland state police database on the internet shows 15 accidents similar to mine from 2015 to 2022 at that intersection. I made a request to the State Highway Administration (SHA) after my accident for a physical barrier, yet nothing has changed.

You can help in two ways:

1. Submit a request to the SHA for placement of such a barrier.
2. Sign the petition at www.change.org.

Something as simple as a row of bollards (flexible plastic posts that are about three feet high) on the line dividing the travel lane from the shoulder shortly before the intersection would be enough.

I was lucky; I was not hurt in my accident. Not everyone will be so fortunate. Please help protect future drivers entering the highway at that intersection by submitting a request to SHA and signing the petition.

Thank you,

Catherine Vieweg Taylor