Havre de Grace council asks staff to draft letter supporting study of Alternative 2 for Ontario/Otsego intersection, with caveats

Council members on Nov. 4 signaled conditional support for a state-led redesign of the Ontario/Otsego intersection — a longstanding congestion and safety concern — asking city staff to draft a letter endorsing Alternative 2 for further study while listing local issues the state must examine.

Planning Director Tim Borsier briefed the council on a 2020 study by the State Highway Administration and Wallace Montgomery that evaluated four reconfiguration options. He said the study rated Alternatives 2 and 4 as the best capacity solutions, and SHA advised that Alternative 2 “provides the best results, with the lowest cost.” Borsier and staff also noted the 2020 study did not fully address truck strikes to medians, nearby utility poles, or pedestrian and bicycle access that the city now seeks to incorporate.

Residents and council members raised persistent questions about whether tolling patterns on nearby I-95 and the Hatem Bridge drive traffic through the intersection. Council President Ringstalker said, “the root of the problem is the tolls,” urging the city and its state and county partners to pursue legislative changes as part of a comprehensive fix. Director Borsier said toll policy is handled by a different state office but recommended moving forward on design while pursuing toll discussions in parallel.

Several council members pressed for the next phase to include pedestrian and bicycle safety, safe-route-to-school concerns, and operational tests for major diversion scenarios (for example, if I-95 is closed during storms). Council member Boyer said the intersection “is not intuitive” and urged action to reduce crashes and curb damage. County and state staff, the director said, have generally been receptive but the design must be refined in subsequent phases (30/60/90% designs).

Rather than approving a fixed lane configuration tonight, the council asked administration to draft a letter for consideration at an upcoming meeting that would: express support for studying Alternative 2, request SHA include a targeted list of additional analyses (pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, Route 40 crossing mitigation, license-plate-based travel pattern data where feasible, truck strike mitigation and public comment opportunities), and clarify the city’s willingness to participate in funding and coordination during design phases. The city expects the letter would help the state prioritize the project in the next funding round beginning in January.

No construction funding or final design was approved; council members framed the vote as a step to secure study and funding attention while preserving the right to modify or reject specific design elements later. The administration will draft the letter and return it to council for formal approval at the next meeting.