When the cloverleaf at Broken Land Parkway and Route 29 opened in 1992, this was the beginning of the end for Oakland Mills Village Center. Why? Because there were connections to 29 via smaller roads that sent commuters right through the Village Center. Now these connections have been severed and the through traffic going trough the Village Center have dwindled. I applaud Village Residents for staying loyal to their Center and working hard to attract tenants like Food Lion and Second Chance Saloon when their predecessors went out of business. I do think it's high time that Oakland Mills be given a direct direction to 29 once more.
I'm not the only who thinks this. The Downtown Columbia Redevelopment arm of the County Government along with GGP have come forth with plans to decrease traffic congestion as development continues Downtown. Their plans include a north south road that runs just parallel to Route 29 as a northward extension of the Broken Land Parkway ramp. Also included is an east west road which begins between the entrance to the Library and Whole Foods. The east west road is to built in conjunction with the Downtown Columbia Pathway which will run from Howard County General Hospital to Blandair Park when completed.
The east west road will be the new connection from Route 29 to Oakland Mills as well as Downtown. The exact route of this new road is unclear but I'm thinking the east west road should merely be an extension of White Acre Road across Stevens Forest Road running in between Forest Ridge and Grande Pointe Apartments, across Route 29 and dead ending at Little Patuxent Parkway even with the current Mall Entrance across from the Whole Foods.
Not only should this extension to White Acre Road connect Oakland Mills to Downtown, it should connect Oakland Mills to Route 29. While there isn't room for a full cloverleaf, access to 29 North from White Acre Road and access to White Acre Road can and should be obtained. Those looking to go to South on 29 can take White Acre Road into Downtown and simply turn left on Little Patuxent Parkway and then a left onto South Entrance Road. Travelers going southbound on Route 29 can take the existing South Entrance Road exit, make a right on Little Patuxent Parkway and then a right on White Acre Road and then crossover 29 into Oakland Mills.
As Downtown continues to grow, the intersections of Little Patuxent Parkway and Route 29 will continue to become more congested. The same rings true for Broken Land Parkway and Route 29. Creating a third intersection that utilizes South Entrance Road from 29 South and the natural position of White Acre Road, this will help traffic on Little Patuxent Parkway and Broken Land Parkway flow smoother while bringing more traffic into Oakland Mills Village Center thereby increasing business at the Village Center.
1 comment:
What about also going back to the old idea that some of the neighborhoods should connect to each other?
For example, the outparcel neighborhood Beaverbrook was connected with Longfellow in the 1980s when they opened up Castlemoor Drive onto Longfellow's Hesperus Drive.
But what people don't seem to remember is that over one the other end of Beaverbrook (the East End), their Darlington Road was supposed to connect with Running Brook's East Darlington Road -- hence the similar names and the fact that they're labeled "road" and not "drive."
This didn't happen because the neighbors complained. But I think it needs to be revisited along with other nixed "punch-throughs" that maybe we don't know about. While these would not serve as main roads, they would give drivers an "opt-out" when traffic is heavy.
I've also wished that the neighborhood of Thunderhill had a cut-through to Phelps Luck, so people who live there could get directly there when Route 108 is bottlenecked. Just put up a "local traffic only" sign.
And so on. Great blog, keep up the good work.
-- DOBA
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