A teen?s death while walking on Route 40 shows the urgent need for safety upgrades on the busy road.
“It?s been a danger, and you can ask anyone on the Route 40 committee,” said Angela Beltram, a member of the county?s Route 40 Task Force, which made recommendations on safety and aesthetic improvementsto the road in early 2005.
Calvin Marcelus Johnson, 17, of Ellicott City, was killed Sunday night when he was struck by an Acura while walking east beneath the Route 29 overpass along the eastbound lane of Route 40, Howard County police said.
No shoulder is available under the overpass for Route 29.
Beltram said the county and state are not taking the task force?s recommendations seriously.
“We talked about sidewalks for people who work there and want to walk to eat somewhere,” she said. “There were different ways things could be improved there, but there?s nothing there.”
However, interchanges like Route 29 and Route 40 are high-speed areas meant for cars, said Chuck Gichler, State Highway Administration spokesman.
“I would advise people to cross at appropriate places where there are marked crosswalks,” he said.
Gichler could not comment on the accident, because the administration, which examines fatal accidents on Maryland roads, has not completed its investigation.
Howard County has funded a feasibility study the state agency will undertake for improvements to areas in the county, including Routes 40 and 29, Gichler said.
The name of the 17-year-old Ellicott City driver of the Acura was not released by police.
Other fatal incidents
More than 54,600 cars pass through Route 40 at the interchange with Route 29 every day.
» 2005: Pedestrian was killed on Route 40 just east of Route 29 near the Superfresh grocery store
» 2003: Man driving a motorcycle was killed on Route 40 west of Route 29 by Saint John?s Lane
Source: Howard County Police Department
