SHA needs to paint crosswalks at Norbeck & Wintergate Intersection

T-shaped Intersection at Norbeck and Wintergate

Over the last two weeks, I have been in frequent touch with Ray Feldman of the Maryland State Highway Administration's (SHA) Intercounty Connector (ICC) Project Office about a number of issues involving the ICC highway and Norbeck Road.

I recently had a chance to inspect and observe conditions on the ICC Bike Trail, which runs along the ICC highway from Georgia Avenue (MD-82) to Wintergate Crossing at Norbeck Road (MD-28) to Layhill (MD-182). 

Armed with my observations, I wrote to Mr. Feldman and asked him if there would be marked and painted crosswalks at the intersection of Wintergate and Norbeck to facilitate safe crossing for users of the ICC bike trail?  Also, I asked if would be flashing count-down timers to signal how much time a pedestrian or bicyclist has to cross?   

Please note that this intersection at Wintergate and Norbeck is a T-intersection.  That means all the cars exiting Wintergate at the traffic light will be turning left or right into the paths of pedestrians and bicyclists who will also be crossing with the green light. 

For that reason, it would be wise for SHA to proivde marked and painted crosswalks across Norbeck Road on both sides of the Wintergate intersection to ensure maximum visibility and crossing safety. 

Here are some pictures I took of the Wintergate Intersection.  The first picture shows a gold Subaru Forester blocking what would be the crosswalk space in the intersection.  That's another reason to provide marked and painted crosswalks so that drivers know where to stop.

Even then, many drivers make rolling right turns from Norbeck onto Wintergate regardless of the traffic light and they may not stop for pedestrians and bicyclists who have the right-of-the-way during green cycles.  It would be wise to install a "No right turns on RED" sign at the Norbeck traffic light.

More pictures available after the jump:




This Subaru Forester is blocking what would be the crosswalk space to the ICC bike trail

 


Crosswalks are needed to ensure maximum visibility and safety for users of the ICC bike trail here

 



Cars exiting Wintergate will be turning left into the path of trail users crossing at this light

 




The ICC bike trail at Wintergate looking towards Georgia Ave is nearly completed except
for a few hundred feet of a dirt path that has yet to be paved.