Three city council members and two city staffers sat down with state delegates and highway officials Monday morning, and they came away saying a solution to the traffic mess around Havre de Grace’s largest new housing development may finally be within reach.
What’s happening: The meeting, organized by Delegates Steve Johnson and Andre Johnson, brought together Council Members Vicki Jones, David Glenn, and Matthew Ellis, along with Director of Administration Chris Ricci and Senior Aide to the Mayor and Legislative Liaison Adam Rybczynski, to work through traffic problems tied to Greenway Farm is a community built by D.R. Horton on the north side of the CSX rail line near the US 40 commercial strip. State Highway Administration officials also took part.
What they said: Jones told the full council Monday night that progress is being made. “It seems like we’re coming closer to a resolution for the traffic problems that we’ve been having in that area,” she said. “I hope that we will continue to have peaceful conversation and that we can get some resolution to that.”
Ellis echoed that. “There’s light at the tunnel, I believe, which is good news,” he said, adding that he appreciated everyone who had put time and effort into the issue.
The specific ask: Glenn is pushing for a traffic signal at Martha Lewis Boulevard and wants the city to act now on something in the meantime. “While we continue to push for a traffic signal, I recognize that it won’t happen overnight,” he said. He asked the council to consider lowering the speed limit on Route 40 between Blenheim Farm Lane and Martha Lewis Boulevard as a short-term safety measure while the signal effort moves forward.
Catch up quick: The city has previously tried to get state funding for a traffic signal at a dangerous nearby intersection but was told the location did not meet state law requirements for traffic volume. The city’s 2025 Comprehensive Plan accounts for the full buildout of Greenway Farm in its residential projections and includes a chapter on reducing car travel through expanded trail connections.
