Allowing 18-wheel trucks toting used cars on the winding, narrow roads of western Howard County is a recipe for disaster, according to a group of residents who are opposing the construction of a proposed used car dealership near Lisbon.

Under a plan that county officials are reviewing, developer Frank Saglimbeni hopes to build a used car lot on a 4-acre parcel at the intersection of Daisy and Union Chapel roads.

The zoning on the land allows for such a lot.

But the members of a group called Concerned Citizens of Western Howard County say that county officials have done an inadequate job assessing the impact the lot's operation would have on local roads.

While the residents' group does not dispute Saglimbeni's right to build the dealership, its members argue that allowing large auto-carriers to ply the rural roads around the property would constitute a safety hazard and that county officials therefore should deny Saglimbeni permission to build the dealership.

"It's obvious he's within his right as the owner," said Hugh Flaherty, a member of the group. "But we have a right to public safety. ... We would hope (officials) would look at the public safety issues as overriding the private property issue."

Flaherty added that members of the group believe "the county wasn't paying close enough attention to the traffic hazards we see coming down the road for us."

The group commissioned an Annandale, Va.-based traffic engineering consultant, Hugh McGee, to conduct a safety study of the area, the results of which members presented to county planners this spring.

According to the study, the roads around the site contain curves that would be difficult for a long trailer to negotiate, limited sight distance and narrow lanes with no shoulders.

"This safety assessment has identified numerous geometric deficiencies on the access roads and at the driveway locations that create safety problems and could result in crashes," the study states.

Saglimbeni did not return a telephone call seeking comment.

In prior interviews with this newspaper, he has said that the dealership would be small, and that he planned to give the county a portion of the site on which it could build a traffic circle designed to reduce accidents at the intersection.

"If (the dealership) is going to create any hazard, I have no interest in doing it," Saglimbeni said in July 2007.

'There is little we can do'

Brenda Stewart, who leads the residents' group, informed County Executive Kenneth Ulman, Planning and Zoning director Marsha McLaughlin, and Public Works director James Irvin of the results of the citizen-funded study in an April 11 letter.

Irvin responded in an April 14 letter, saying county officials also were concerned with the potential safety problems of allowing large trucks on narrow roads, but because the land's zoning allows for a car lot, "there is little we can do to stop the project."

County planner Jill Manion-Farrar this week said that officials are requiring Saglimbeni to meet additional safety conditions before they approve his plan.

Planners informed Saglimbeni last week that he must demonstrate that the site has an adequate turning radius for large vehicles and arrange for escort vehicles to accompany auto-carriers traveling to the site, in order to alert oncoming traffic that a large vehicle is approaching.

"We did ask the developer to address some concerns," Manion-Farrar said. "We feel we've adequately taken a look."

Flaherty said members of his group still are uneasy about the proposal and worry about how the county's latest conditions would be enforced.

"We don't think it's an appropriate use of these roads," he said of the lot. "We don't mind responsible growth, but this type of commercial development has no business in this area."

E-mail Jennifer Broadwater at jbroadwater@patuxent.com.

---

user comments (0)