Changes to the Towson Circle and traffic patterns on York Road will take shape this summer.
As part of the Urban Design Assistance Team's plans to make the town's commercial core more pedestrian friendly, the town seeks to slow the speed of automobiles in order to increase foot traffic.
Raymond Heil, a revitalization project manager with the Baltimore County office of community conservation, spoke to the Greater Towson Council of Community Associations last week to update neighborhood representatives on the program's progress that began in 2006.
Heil outlined dozens of prospective changes, such as transforming Chesapeake and Pennsylvania Avenues to two-way roads and adding parking spaces on Washington Avenue.
Despite the plethora of possible alterations, only two major changes have been confirmed.
Beginning in June, Heil said the County will convert York Road north of Bosley Avenue to two lanes, eliminating the outside travel lanes and creating metered street parking spaces. The travel lanes will also be narrowed to 11-feet wide in order to force drivers to slow their speed.
Since York Road already experiences high traffic during rush hours and the road alterations would exacerbate the current conditions, Heil said drivers would be encouraged to take Bosley Avenue when traveling northbound to reach Interstate-695.
"One study shows that 40 to 50 percent of traffic going up York Road is using it as a through road to 695," Heil said during his presentation to the GTCCA Thursday.
"We hope drivers will take Bosley to get to 695 and York Road near the core will be used only for local traffic."
In June, the County will also make alterations to the Towson Circle. During his presentation, Heil said the two sides of the roundabout are too straight and allow drivers to pick up speed when going around the corner.
"Drivers are supposed to go around 15 miles per hour there but we all know they get up to 30 sometimes," he said.
This summer, the circle will be made more round, forcing drivers to slow down.
Also, when exiting the roundabout onto Joppa Road and York Road, there will be only one lane, instead of two. The crosswalks are currently very difficult to cross and drivers move too fast when exiting the circle, Heil said.
Two of the "Walkable Towson" plan's primary goals are to create safer walkways for pedestrians and increase the number of adult patrons in the commercial core at night.
"There really aren't that many adults in the core at night. It's mostly younger people. There isn't much for adults," Heil said. "We aren't trying to get rid of the young people. We just want a better mix and [to] increase adult patronage."
UDAT considers Allegheny Avenue to be the prototype street. Filled with small shops and a variety of dining establishments, the street has wide sidewalks, street parking and an appealing landscape with trees.
"We want to make Towson a more attractive destination and increase commercial business in Towson," Heil said. "We want it to be a place where people in the surrounding communities go and feel safe and enjoy themselves."
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