A Walkersville group dedicated to improving safety at the Md. Route 194 and Crum Road intersection has expanded the scope of its traffic safety petition to the Maryland State Highway Administration.

The Crum Road-Route 194 Community Alliance — a group of Walkersville residents concerned about safety at the intersection — is petitioning the highway administration to include traffic control at all Route 194 intersections that fall within the town's limits. There are 11 such intersections in the town's limits.

"As I met people … I soon learned that there are a litany of issues relating to Route 194 as it routes between the town's northern and southern boundary lines," George Rudy, the alliance's vice president, wrote in an e-mail to The Gazette. The alliance has been collecting signatures since May.

"Instead of focusing in a piecemeal fashion on only Crum Road issues, it is now the intent of the program to view the whole of Route 194 as it passes through Walkersville," he wrote.

Nearly 1,000 residents have signed the petition so far, Rudy said, but the alliance has plans to gather 3,000 signatures — more than half of the number of Walkersville residents — to submit to SHA.

But the project is on "standby" Rudy said, until Sept. 15, the day after the Walkersville election, when the alliance will resume its work. Rudy is a candidate for Walkersville burgess.

"This way it divorces any influence that, ‘oh, I'm here to sell my project and talk to you about being burgess.' I put it on hold so there's no conflict of interest," Rudy said this week.

Two accidents have occurred at Crum Road and Route 194 since April, including one involving a Chevy Suburban traveling north on Route 194 that collided with an Oldsmobile turning right from Crum Road. The Oldsmobile went off into a field while the Suburban lost control and plowed through a brick wall belonging to the Heritage Animal Hospital.

The alliance is looking at risk factors at each intersection and taking notice of things that cause poor visibility to drivers, like signs or high grass. Homeowners associations have also assigned liaisons to work with the alliance, Rudy noted.

The alliance is also hoping to resolve the question of whether the state, county or town has jurisdiction over Route 194, Rudy added.

According to Walkersville commissioner Chad Weddle, town officials met with the SHA five months ago to discuss the possibility of installing a traffic light at the intersection. But based on the highway administration's study, a traffic light probably won't happen, Weddle said, even though the town wants one.

"It's not been warranted by the state highway's criteria," he said. "It's certainly been a town position that we want something to be done about that intersection."

Weddle noted that town officials have been meeting with SHA for 10 years regarding the intersection. The town can't put up traffic lights or speed limits because the road is state-owned, he added.

According to SHA spokesman David Buck, a new traffic signal could be a costly endeavor.

"The cost varies greatly depending on the complexity of the design, cost of materials, hardware and software required, if any right of way needs to be purchased and the amenities included," he said.

Although it is difficult to pinpoint a price, Buck said that a new signal costs between $150,000 and $225,000.

E-mail Katherine Mullen at kmullen@gazette.net.