Great minds in Towson have long sought to unclog the traffic congestion in the Baltimore County seat, particularly on the busy stretch of York Road from Joppa Road to Towsontown Boulevard.
One of these great thinkers was then-County Executive Spiro T. Agnew. More than 30 years ago, he proposed to untangle the intersection where York meets Joppa with an underground tunnel linking York and Dulaney Valley roads. His idea stayed on the drawing board, where it belonged. An amateur traffic engineer of more recent vintage, Towson Councilman Douglas B. Riley, erected a wall of Jersey barriers at that notorious crossing in 1992. It actually produced positive results. But state legislators, taking their cue from local store owners who felt the reduced traffic was hurting their businesses, had the wall removed.
In the meantime, traffic on the four lanes of York Road's 300, 400 and 500 blocks, from Joppa to Towsontown, continues to plod along. It sometimes comes to an infuriating crawl during weekday rush hours and on weekends.
The Towson Partnership (TTP), a local consortium of government, business, community and academic officials, is the newest entrant in the Towson Traffic Sweepstakes. On the strong recommendation of a traffic consultant, TTP has asked the State Highway Administration to ban parking on both sides of these three blocks of York Road at all hours. Parking is allowed there after 7 p.m. on weekdays and throughout the weekend. However, these are still heavy traffic hours, when people crowd the cinema, the restaurants and the Borders book store inside the Towson Commons complex on the west side of York Road's 400 block.
TTP's request is a good one, worthy of at least a trial period. Some people might complain about the loss of the relatively few parking spaces on the street, but several public garages are within easy walking distance. Visitors to the Towson Commons garage can have their tickets validated if they patronize a business in the complex.
Other proposals to ease local traffic and improve central Towson's appearance could soon become reality. Baltimore County's Annapolis delegation hopes to return from the capital this spring with state funding for a roundabout at the York and Joppa intersection. The county government already has set aside $500,000 for landscaping inside and near the roundabout.
Slowly, not unlike rush hour traffic in Towson, this nagging problem might be nearing a solution.