County Executive Ken Ulman said he shares many of the concerns outlined in a letter from two lawmakers about proposed changes to the intersection of Route 32 and Cedar Lane to accommodate the planned Riverdale project.
Del. Elizabeth Bobo and state Sen. Edward J. Kasemeyer, both Democrats, wrote to Ulman that the plans would "lessen the level of safety at that intersection and cause greater inconvenience to many of our constituents who rely heavily on Cedar Lane for their access to and from Route 32."
Riverdale, a residential condo and townhouse project of Dale Thompson Builders Inc. is slated for a 30-acre site along the Middle Patuxent River at the edge of west Columbia. Calls to Dale Thompson were not returned.
According to the letter from lawmakers, the traffic study on which the decisions are based is flawed because it assumed about 50 cars entering the development at the peak hour despite the fact that developers plan about 260 units served by one road. With each home featuring parking pads or garage space for two cars, it is unrealistic to assume that no more than 10 percent would come back home during the peak rush hour, they wrote.
The study also predicts that 1,200 vehicles would make the turn north onto Cedar Lane at rush hour. The proposed reconfiguration to accommodate the project requires that traffic face a full traffic signal before making a two-lane right turn onto Cedar Lane.
The State Highway Administration has said that the resultant backup is a greater hazard than the current route, according to the letter.
"The county and SHA have conferred on this issue as we always do as it pertains to state right of way," said Kimberley Flowers, deputy director for planning and zoning for Howard County. "The developer is expected to address those issues."
The county Department of Planning and Zoning is scheduled to provide its comments to the developer at the beginning of March, Flowers said.
"The county and SHA are in agreement that the development access at this intersection is problematic, and that is why the developer's changes have not been approved," Ulman's spokesman Kevin Enright said in a statement.
State Sen. James N. Robey has exchanged letters with at least one concerned resident about the Riverdale project and has encouraged residents to share their opinions in meetings between SHA and the county in coming weeks.
Bridget Mugane, president of Howard County Citizens Association, said her organization is happy with the responses from lawmakers and other public officials.
"Their attention to this has been greatly appreciated and is a fine example of our delegation's response to public concerns," she said. "I'm feeling very optimistic."
Mugane contended that such a high-density project should not be built on what she describes as a wilderness site. She is particularly concerned about the proposed shortening of the deceleration distance on the highway ramp to access the development, which she says would invite rear-end wrecks.
In addition to traffic problems, residents have raised environmental issues and say they fear potential damage to historically significant sites from the proposed housing development.
Mugane said recent evidence indicates that the site of the proposed Riverdale project is near caves that might have been used by Harriet Tubman, the runaway slave who led hundreds of slaves to freedom.
Some have criticized the evolution of the project through the years. In 2004, a project proposed by developers Dale Thompson and Donald R. Reuwer called for 140 townhouses and a two-story office building on the site.
By moving a sensitive planning boundary, the project gained immediate access to more than 400 housing allocations in Columbia.
Without the zoning adjustment, the project would have to wait years because housing allocations in the southeastern district had been taken by the Maple Lawn, Maryland and Emerson developments.
june.arney@baltsun.com