GLEN BURNIE, Md. — A Glen Burnie business owner says he's spent years reporting safety concerns at a state highway intersection. After 26 crashes there since 2024, the state now plans to add warning signs.

Andrew Leonard has a front-row seat to the problem. From his second-floor office overlooking the intersection of Oak Lane and Baltimore Annapolis Boulevard, he has watched one crash after another unfold, including two on the same day in June.

"The cars tend to land on the sidewalk. The most recent ones, the car spun out and landed on the lawn in front of our building," Leonard said.

Some crashes have gone even farther.

"Both times," Leonard said when asked if he was inside when vehicles crashed into the building. "It shakes the whole building."

During a visit to the intersection, close calls were easy to spot, with cars speeding through and drivers swerving around vehicles waiting to turn.

"Look, here it is, it's happening right now. These people aren't slowing down," Leonard said.

Michele Schmidt, president of the Northern Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce, said the problem has become part of daily life. Leonard's business is one of three tenants in the building, and she said the chamber's board has also been pushing for changes.

"Working here every day we hear sirens, squealing wheels," Schmidt said. "I don't know what has to happen beyond the building being hit and people being injured in order for something to change."

Leonard first wrote to the State Highway Administration in 2024. The agency told him it would complete a comprehensive review of the intersection. More than two years later, the state says it plans to install additional warning signs ahead of the intersection this fall to give drivers more notice as they approach.

"It's really painful to have the government down your neck to pay taxes on time, but then when the government needs to meet their responsibilities, they act like you're unimportant," Leonard said.

According to Anne Arundel County Police, officers have received reports of 26 crashes at the intersection, including 10 in 2024, nine in 2025 and seven so far in 2026. Police said they found no reports of fatal crashes at the intersection.

The State Highway Administration's five-year crash study identified 22 police-reported crashes since 2021, including 11 in the last two years that left nine people injured. The agency said most were caused by drivers failing to yield the right of way or obey a stop sign.

Asked about the difference in crash totals, the State Highway Administration said some minor crashes are never reported to the agency because drivers simply exchange information and leave. The agency also said some crashes may have occurred near the intersection, but not within the intersection itself, which could account for the differing totals.

Despite the crashes, Anne Arundel County Police said the volume does not indicate a pattern or frequency that would warrant specific enforcement initiatives or other unusual police action. The department said the Northern Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce could contact the county's Traffic Engineering Division to request a traffic study.

Leonard said the warning signs may help, but questioned whether they'll be enough.

"I don't know what the signs are going to say. You know, be careful making a left turn here? I mean, everybody should be careful making a left turn here," Leonard said.

He's also worried about a nearby crosswalk.

"If you look at that crosswalk sign that's at the crosswalk, it is a school one. It has kids carrying books. That is right where the accidents happen. It's almost like they have a bull's eye right where they're telling the kids to cross," Leonard said.

The State Highway Administration is also designing a larger project along MD 648 (Baltimore Annapolis Boulevard) through downtown Glen Burnie. The project would consolidate pedestrian crossings, remove some on-street parking and redirect it to nearby public and private lots, improving sight distance, increasing roadway capacity and helping traffic flow between MD 2 and Oak Lane. Pending final approvals and funding, construction is expected to begin in the summer of 2027. As an interim measure, parking restriction signs will be installed this summer.

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