EASTON, Md. - The wheels are turning for drivers and plans to build a new Route 50 median in Easton between Dutchman's Lane and Lomax Street. The ultimate goal is to improve pedestrian and traffic safety. But at a town council meeting Monday night, Maryland's State Highway Administration (SHA) says its changing original plans, including keeping median crossovers at Lomax and Arcadia Streets, rather than closing them off.
SHA is also keeping some other plans, like building sidewalks and a landscape median down the center.
But drivers at Monday's meeting want SHA to also consider something else: turning the East- and Westbound third lanes into turn lanes. The change would squeeze three-lane traffic down to two and force traffic to abide by the 35 mph speed limit.
"I don't think it would be worth it turning it down to two-lanes. It seems like a pretty bad idea honestly," Kevin Webster, a Talbot County driver, said.
It's a major headache for drivers already dealing with bumper-to-bumper traffic.
But Easton Police Chief Dave Spencer says the change would help drivers merging onto Route 50 traffic and emergency personnel trying to get through.
"If there's a police emergency, we can't get through and that's an issue," Spencer said.
SHA says it is still factoring in and considering public comment before construction begins on the new median next Summer.
