A proposed bill to reduce traffic congestion on Anne Arundel County?s peninsulas may place heavy financial burdens on homeowners, one councilman said.
“I don?t know if the result is worth the effort we?d put people through,” said Councilman Ed Reilly, R-District 7. “I?m uncomfortable with it now and I need to review it more. But it has to be done without crippling the individual homeowner.”
The bill calls for smaller housing subdivisions on four county peninsulas to undergo adequate roads tests.
The current law allows future developments small enough to produce 50 daily car trips or less to bypass traffic studies.
The proposed bill would have those developments examined as a group, and if traffic studies show failing grades at intersections, the developer must pay for improvements at those intersections. But Reilly questioned the logistics, saying a burden could be placed on a single person wishing to subdivide his land for his children.
He also said some time span should be considered, as developments could be spaced out enough to avoid any aggregate examination.
“There should be more defining parameters,” Reilly said.
Councilman Jamie Benoit, D-District 4, also wanted to know why only four peninsulas were picked; Council Chairman Ronald Dillon, R-District 3, replied that those areas had only one road in and out and had the greatest traffic concern.
