To know Woodbine Avenue is to know that Towson is on a hill.
Its descent is clearly visible from West Joppa Road for nearly six roller coaster blocks before it curves out of sight and drops another three blocks for its connection with West Chesapeake Avenue.
Drivers don't need to hit the gas pedal; they almost immediately need to hit the brake, to stay within the 25 mph speed limit.
But many don't.
That's why Woodbine Avenue is among a number of local streets that the Baltimore County Department of Public Works has slated for road humps.
Others are in Aigburth Manor — Maryland Avenue between Burke Avenue and Aigburth Road, and on Aigburth Road between York Road and Knollwood Road, and in West Towson on West Chesapeake Avenue between the Towson Y entrance and Dixie Drive.
The time frame is uncertain because each segment is in a different stage of the approval process, but Keith Link, who manages traffic calming devices such as humps for Baltimore County, is hoping to have all the work completed by September.
The humps are designed to curb speeding. Once the county determines a street qualifies, 75 percent of the property owners on the street have to agree to the humps, according to DPW spokesman David Fidler.
"I can't imagine anybody disagreeing," said Woodbine Avenue resident Dick Parsons, who lives near the bottom of the hill and pushed for the "traffic calming" devices.
"Cars pick up speed. It's a straight shot, one of the worst streets in West Towson. If you have pets or children, it's scary."
The county submits its plan for the street to the community for approval, in the case of Woodbine Avenue, four humps spaced 500 to 600 feet apart, according to Link.
The humps are as wide as the road, 10 feet in length and 3 inches high, and have six-foot-long graduated "ramps" leading to or away from them.
The Woodbine humps will feature brick work on top, which costs $500 more than the asphalt typically used, Link said, noting the appearance offsets the costs when a street is bordered by a number of houses.
But no speed hump is installed unless the location is approved by the owner of the property at that particular location. Seeking approval for alternative locations can cause delays.
Wrong way hazard
On West Chesapeake Avenue, traffic engineers are not only planning speed humps to slow drivers on the narrow, curvy downhill stretch between Towson Y and Dixie Drive, but they are taking other measures as well to deal with wrong-way traffic.
West Chesapeake at that point is a one-way, downhill street, said Link, but, "a lot of drivers drive 'up' the street. Some are lost. Some, I think, just don't care."
Residents already have approved construction that will narrow West Chesapeake at Dixie Drive so it won't offer a lane up the hill at the intersection, he said.
On Maryland Avenue, DPW plans to install the hump this month. Residents concerned about traffic, especially traffic going to and from Towson High School, had requested and approved the change.
Some approvals still needed
But community approval has lagged for the four humps sought for Aigburth Road, said Aigburth Manor Community Association president Paul Hartman.
"The request began with a homeowner whose dog ran out in the street and was killed by a car right around the curve," said Hartman. "People are always talking on their cell phones or speeding. We didn't want it to happen to a family member or another pet.
"We qualified two years ago, and only had five or six signatures to go, but someone changed their mind, someone else didn't want a hump, someone fell down and broke a hip, someone got sidetracked.
"Anyway we could have, we delayed it. I'm equally culpable."
Now the community is planning to take the lead. Hartman said his group also requested speed humps for Burke Avenue.
"It was a no go," he said. "Too much traffic. We were told it's a collector road."