A solution to the dilemma of the Route 140 bottleneck through Westminster is no closer at hand, but a Carroll County citizen's group has provided an alternative to the much-discussed idea of building a bypass.
The Carroll Life plan would streamline the existing state highway and accelerate the traffic flow by limiting access, like an interstate. Unfortunately for many businesses along Route 140 or in downtown Westminster, the proposal might speed traffic too efficiently through the municipality.
The plan would also divert Route 140 through the campus of East Middle School, separating athletic fields from the classroom building. Westminster Mayor Kenneth Yowan complains that this route would require the demolition of taxpaying, revenue-generating businesses. Ironically, the Carroll Life group was originated to oppose a bypass route that would destroy some members' homes.
Even before State Highway Administration engineers finish their review, it's clear this plan contains too many problems, even if suggestions of overpasses at key intersections might prove desirable. The value of this proposal lies in involving citizens in the process to come up with alternatives, instead of bureaucrats simply listening to citizen complaints at public hearings and then tinkering with their suggestions. The residents were given a blank slate to draft a solution. Residents to the south and north of Westminster are opposed to a bypass. Businesses that will lose their customers are as adamantly opposed to the Carroll Life streamline concept.
Given the intensity of the opposition, the SHA might well decide to leave the Route 140 project off its approved list this spring. Projects to resurface the highway and install synchronized traffic signals this summer will help in the interim. But eventually a decision on major redesign of traffic flow will be needed for this important artery.
CARRIER HEROES: Beverly Raine, a Baltimore Sun carrier, usually delivers her papers without incident in the pre-dawn dark. On Monday, as she cruised Finksburg, she noticed flames shooting from a house. She banged on the door and roused the occupants. Meanwhile, Fred Zaragoza, a carrier for the Carroll County Times who arrived around the same time, helped Arnold Cornett carry his 75-year-old mother, Mary, away from the smoke-filled house. The carriers' attentiveness saved lives.