Center Turn Lane on Edmondson Avenue Could Be Eliminated

Baltimore County's plan to add bike and parking lanes along Edmondson Avenue from Dutton Avenue to the city line could involve eliminating the center turn lane.

At a community input meeting Wednesday night at , County Planner Kathy Schlabach said that the idea would be proposed to the Public Works Department if there were no opposition from the community.

Residents in attendance were asked to fill out comment cards sharing their opinion, but a majority of the dozen there said they supported the idea.

The Maryland Bikeways Program awarded grants for 2012, which included $15,000 for bike lanes to be installed on . Currently bike lanes on Edmondson Avenue end at the Baltimore city line and are not seen again until after Dutton Avenue.

There are there different types of lane improvements the county will add on Edmondson Avenue: a bike lane, a shared bike and parking lane and separate parking and bike lanes where space allows.

Because there are parts of Edmondson Avenue where parking is allowed, some space will be shared between cars and bicyclists.

The grant will also pay for four types of signs added to the road, including marking distances to the established trails such as the No. 9 Trolley Trail and the Gwynns Falls Trail in West Baltimore.

The center turn lane would still be available at traffic light intersections and at the Baltimore Beltway, but residents said at the meeting that the center turn lane allows drivers to maintain a high rate of speed and pass drivers turning.

The county hopes to install the bike lanes by the end of summer or early fall. The project is the first of its kind in Baltimore County, Schlabach said. 

"This is an area where this a lot of interest and you already have a lot of stuff that we can build on," she said.