Paul S

Tree toppled by strong winds is lying in Howard County right-of-way and should be removed.

Large tree leaning on overhead power lines on side of Homewood Road.

The large branches shown in the photo are all along Master's Run, following the recent storm.

Large tree limb down on Master's Run.

Homewood Road is an extraordinarily hazardous road where the "The Chase" and "Farside" communities intersect it. The reason for this is simple, and that is the presence of a very limited sightline due to the hill on Homewood immediately to the West of this intersection. The photo shows the traffic accident that happened at this intersection just today. And only a month ago there was another accident within 50 yards of this intersection, tragically fatal, that also was in some part due to the limited sightline created by the Homewood Road hill (https://www.wmar2news.com/news/local-news/one-killed-three-injured-in-ellicott-city-crash-friday).

The limited sightline, combined with inattentive drivers exceeding the posted speed limit of 40 MPH, creates this needless hazard. While there is little that can be done about the hill (i.e. it is not going to be "removed"), the posted speed limit could certainly be reduced to 30 MPH for cars driving East on Homewood Road, and a rumble strip could be installed just below the apex of the hill along with signage to alert East-bound drivers of a "limited sightline" and "hidden entrance ahead" (just an idea).

Such changes would be relatively inexpensive, and would likely result in a substantially decreased incidence of future accidents along this limited sightline stretch of Homewood Road.

Water coming continuously from homeowner's drain pipe creates persistent standing water (even when no rain has fallen in several days) in the ditch along the North side of Vixen's Path. This is problematic as it creates a breeding ground for mosquitos and it also creates saturated soils at the root zone of the Pin Oak trees that are within Howard County's right-of-way, likely leading to increased susceptibility of these trees to infection and decline.

There is a large increase in the number of residents of The Chase and Farside communities who walk across Homewood Road to get from one community to the other.

Crossing Homewood Road on foot at this location is especially dangerous, due to the hazard posed by vehicles traveling downhill (heading Southeast). As such vehicles drive down Homewood Road, they have a very limited advance sightline to the pedestrians (often including young children) crossing the road ahead of them, and similarly pedestrians have a limited sightline to vehicles approaching from the Northeast, often at speeds of 50 MPH or more.

We propose that the county (1) paint a crosswalk across Homewood Road at this intersection to indicate the proper pedestrian crossing location for residents of The Chase and Farside communities, and (2) post signs along Homewood Road an appropriate distance from this crosswalk to advise approaching vehicles of the presence of a crosswalk at this location.

Taking these simple and inexpensive actions may well serve to provide an additional measure of safety to both drivers and pedestrians at this location.

Washout and eroded drainage is exposing tree roots and undercutting edge of road, leading to undercutting and collapse of edge of road.

Overgrowth of trees and shrubs next to culvert under Log Jump Trail obstructs the line of sight of drivers approaching this curve on the road. Recommend cutting this overgrowth back to improve line of sight.

Overgrown cherry trees at the intersection of Master's Run and Log Jump Trail block the ability of drivers on each of these streets to see other cars approaching this intersection, and create an unnecessary hazard. All of these trees are within the right of way. Recommend simply trimming these trees to allow for better sight lines for drivers approaching this intersection.

The street sign warning of a blind curve (on Vixens Path) shown in the photo is completely filthy, making it virtually illegible in the evening, and posing an unnecessary hazard to anyone walking or driving on this road.

Cars dropping off or picking up kids from a school bus will park on the side of Master’s Run just below the exit from The Chase onto Homewood Road, as shown in the attached photo. Over time this causes erosion of the lawn and degradation of the edge of the pavement and impedes the egress of traffic. Propose placing a “no parking” sign at this location.

Cars park along the edge of Master's Run, causing two problems. First, the parked cars are an impediment to vehicles trying to leave this neighborhood. Second, the parked vehicles are causing increasing erosion of the lawn and soil as can be seen in this photo. Suggestion to put a "no parking allowed" sign at this location

There are large branches down (from a recent storm) along the 3 neighborhood roads (Vixens Path, Masters Run and Log Jump Trail) in The Chase. All of these are Howard County Roads, and the branches are all on the right of way (next to the road). Can the county remove these?

Most of the Pin Oaks that run along the entirety of Vixens Path have lower limbs that are dead and in need of elevating. The majority of these trees are inside of the County’s R.O.W. In addition, some of these trees are showing signs of bacterial leaf scorch and may need to be treated in order to prevent the spread of this disease to neighboring trees.