Safety was on the minds of the people who spoke at the Location/Design Public Hearing on proposed improvements to Route 5 in Leonardtown. But many of the people who spoke privately to State Highway Administration representatives in a separate room at Leonardtown High School, where concerned about the effect of some of the options on their businesses and homes. Several of the options would involve the displacement of 10 businesses and two residences.

Don King of Leonardtown Service Center and Glenn Guy of Guy Distributing were two of the potentially affected businessmen who talked to the state officials. Guy Distributing has been at their location since 1950 and would be displaced by one of the alternate options. Other businesses would be impacted by the option that creates a landscaped raised median between the two north and southbound lanes. The Drury Saunders House would be displaced by one of the options.

The four alternatives presented include “No-Build,” “Transportation System Management,” “Five-Lane Typical Section,” and a Four-Lane Divided Typical Section.” The five-lane alternative has a center turn lane for ether right or left turns. There are also four options that pertain to the four- and five-lane alternatives.

During the public hearing portion of the evening, seven people spoke and were about evenly divided between supporting  the five-lane and four-lane divided options. However, there was even stronger support for the long-sought traffic light at the Abell Street/Moakley Street intersection. “It is almost suicide to try to get out of Abell Street,” said Tom Mattingly, former county commissioner, who said he had spent his entire 12 years as commissioner trying to get a light there.

Mattingly said traffic signals are driven by fatalities at intersections, noting several in the county that have happened after traffic deaths. Regarding the Abell Street/Moakley Street intersection, he said, “We haven’t had one there – yet!”

Mattingly said he was opposed to the four-lane divided highway because the plantings in the median often block line-of-sight. Joan Richie agreed, saying, “We don’t need beautification of the highway, we need a safer highway.”

Gloria Koehler, who lives on Charles Street, said of the Abell/Moakley intersection, “We must have a traffic light there before someone is killed.”

Several speakers, however, argued for the divided highway as the safest alternative. Marcus Popetz supported the alternative for pedestrian safety. Mary Moran said her daughter walks to the College of Southern Maryland along the road where she said “accidents are commonplace.” In fact there was an accident earlier in the day on Thursday before the meeting.

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