Aberdeen Residents Sound Off on Safety Issues

ABERDEEN, MD– Sunday morning in Baltimore, a cruise ship crashed into a gangway, causing the gangway to fall and damage three cars underneath, according to a statement by Carnival to WBAL editor Mia Rosas.

While worrying about death by rogue cruise ship isn’t something to lose sleep over, there are other possible dangers that affect Aberdeen residents.

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We asked Patch Readers what they thought the biggest safety issues were in their town. Here’s a list of the most pressing problems, from break-ins to traffic jams:

• "I feel that my children should NOT have to see strung out people up and down the sidewalks of Aberdeen. The other day one was laying on the concrete in front of Frank's Pizza. RIDICULOUS"
• "Beards Hill/22 intersection scares me. It's dangerous - visibility is restricted, the lanes aren't wide enough for large turning trucks (and some people can't just stay in their lanes), cars are turning left onto 22 from shoprite side using the non turning (straight) lane (maybe they think it's a turn lane since there's 2 green arrows on light system??), the lanes are badly designed, turn lanes are not marked very well (maybe part of the reason cars are using the straight lane to turn). I see people trying to beat the red lights on beards Hill (taco bell side) all the time because only 5-6 cars get through each interval. And I have personally witnessed 4 accidents and more than 5 near misses in the last 2 years."
• "Also the traffic intersection on route 40 that controls 40 's traffic , Walmart, Royal farm, McDonald's and Aldis traffic. Plus the community that lives behind those stores. Ever since the U-turn was taken away and all the new stores have been built no one has done anything to change that light. Multiple accidents have occurred in the short time that the new McDonald's has been built plus all the accidents before. There needs to be better control there. It's a very high trafficked area !"

According to HealthGrove, a medical news site, dying by assault is more common in Maryland than many other states. There are 6.7 deaths per 100,000 in the state from assault, compared to 3.2 deaths per 100,000 for the country.

And it’s not just assault. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported 442 traffic fatalities in 2014, thankfully down from 614 deaths almost a decade earlier.

But it’s not all bad in Maryland!

From lucky moms winning the lottery to animal success stories, plenty of good happens in your neighborhood.

Just last week, a humpback whale was spotted breaching in the Chesapeake Bay. Humpback whales may soon be moving off the endangered species list, where they’ve been since 1970, after an increase in population.

Each week, Patch works to bring Aberdeen residents the latest news from their area. Some good, some bad and some delicious.

Is there an problem that wasn’t mentioned? Share it with us in the comments below or on our Aberdeen Patch Facebook page.