Relief is coming to a terrible intersection in South Baltimore. The Key Highway and Light Street intersection next to the science center is currently a source of confusion to motorists and pedestrians alike. The Baltimore Sun just ran a great article mentioning the benefits of the proposed $7 Million circle project, such as a great reduction of accidents...
"A study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety of 24 intersections where a roundabout replaced traffic lights or stop signs found that overall crashes decreased by 75 percent while pedestrian injuries dropped by 40 percent."There are a few points that the article does seem to miss. For us "greenies", the new circle will provide slightly more greenspace (if only for looks) and plantings than the current design. My hope is that the center of the circle itself will provide a great space for some work of art or a statue. This could be driven by the Federal Hill neighborhood association, as it is the gateway to the neighborhood. Speaking of neighbors, the circle's reduced speeds and increased greening should work to support home prices in the homes in that block.
One of the numbers that I found surprising in the article, was that only 8,000 cars use the intersection currently. Considering how terrible the lights are, it's possible that could grow considerably when the circle goes in.
There was also talk of two more circles for the downtown, but I'm not sure the status of those. The first is where President Street meets Pratt Street and the second is the other side of Pratt Street at MLK blvd.
