Unexpectedly summer-like weather for the ride in this morning. It wasn’t hot, but the humidity was out in full force, and I worked up a good sweat. A front is supposed to sweep through today and drop the temperatures. I brought a rain jacket because there’s a 50% chance of showers later, but now I’m wondering if I’ll need it more to keep warm than to keep dry.
For the past several months, Bloomsbury Ave. in Catonsville has been closed off between Frederick Rd. and Mellor Ave., open to local traffic only. This has been great for me, because I could ride past the barrier and get from Mellor Ave. to Asylum La. pretty easily. Bloomsbury Ave. is normally wall-to-wall cars in the morning, and the closure has cut down on 99% of the car traffic. Well, it seems that the inevitable has happened, and the road is now open again, meaning, I once again feel like I’m risking my life making a left onto Bloomsbury from Mellor, due to the limited sight distances in both directions. So, the next couple times I come through here, I’m going to evaluate a couple of alternate routes that avoid this intersection:
Alternative 1. From Mellor, make a right onto Montemar Ave. Follow Montemar to Bloomsbury, and turn left. Hopefully this intersection will have better visibility, allowing for a safer left turn. I’ll then have to proceed straight through the Mellor/Bloomsbury intersection, but I’ll have the right-of-way.
Alternative 2. Avoid Mellor Ave. altogether. Take Magruder Ave. all the way through to Bloomsbury, turn right, and then make a left onto Asylum. I’ll have to ride in traffic for a bit on Bloomsbury, but I think that’s preferable to crossing against the same traffic with an inadequate line of sight.
I’m hoping that one of these two alternatives will work out, particularly on school days, when traffic on Bloomsbury is heaviest. The real solution to the problem is to redo the Mellor/Bloomsbury/Hilltop Rd. intersection, with either a traffic circle, stop light or 4-way stop. But I’m not holding my breath.