Public is invited to submit feedback on draft plan online until October 28th
ELLICOTT CITY, MD – Howard County has completed a draft of its Complete Streets Design Manual and is offering multiple community engagement opportunities for residents and businesses to provide feedback. The Complete Streets Implementation Team is hosting two virtual public workshops on Thursday, October 14th and Thursday, October 21st. The Design Manual is a technical document that guides the design of Howard County streets and will now include national best practices and context-appropriate Complete Streets concepts.
I highly encourage community members to learn about the Complete Streets Design Manual update. The County is doing everything it can to be transparent in its transportation planning efforts, inclusive and engaging of all members of the public, and responsive to all community input in our projects, plans, and guidance. This is the County’s next major step in implementing our Complete Streets policy, which will help ensure we are providing safe, accessible and reliable streets for all.
The first workshop will provide an overview of the County’s Complete Streets approach to street design. It will be held on October 14th from 7:00pm to 8:00pm on Webex and streamed on Facebook by Howard County Government.
The second workshop provides a technical overview of the updates to the Design Manual and will be of most interest to professionals who use the Design Manual on a regular basis. It will be held on Thursday, October 14th from 2:00pm to 3:30pm. Materials for this workshop will be posted to the project website in mid-October and should be reviewed prior to the event. The second workshop will only be held on Webex.
Both workshops are free and open to the public. Questions from the public concerning the Design Manual can be submitted here and will be answered at the workshops. Additional details about the workshops and how to participate are available here.
In addition to the two workshops, the public is also invited to provide feedback on the draft Design Manual through Thursday, October 28th through an online survey. All comments will be considered in the final draft version of the Design Manual, which will then be posted to the project website. The final version will be presented to County Council for consideration in December. The County Council will likely vote upon the updated Design Manual in early 2022.
“Over the past two years, Howard County’s Complete Streets Implementation Team has been hard at work updating our transportation design guidelines to ensure that residents of all ages and abilities can safely connect to the people and places that matter to them,” said Councilwoman Christiana Rigby. “As we continue this important work, it is essential that we hear from the community with feedback on how we can make our streets safer and more accessible. I strongly encourage community members to attend one of the upcoming workshops to provide input on the future of transportation in Howard County.”
To attend a workshop, review the draft Design Manual, or provide feedback on the draft Manual, visit the project website here. The County also welcomes feedback from the public on the workshops themselves and will be posting an evaluation form on the project website following the events.
“The complete streets policy and the design manual will guide Howard County’s planning for years and generations to come,” said Jennifer White, Senior Policy and Community Engagement Officer at the Horizon Foundation. “This is a critical step that will move us closer towards a vision where residents will be able to walk, bike and access public transit safely, easily and comfortably. We encourage residents of all abilities to provide public input and express support for streets for all.”
In October 2019, the County adopted the Complete Streets Policy. The policy strives to ensure the county is a place where individuals of all backgrounds, ages and abilities can live and travel freely, safely and comfortably whether by foot, bicycle, public transportation or automobile. During the past two years, the Implementation Team has developed the draft plan and other elements of the policy.
- More information on the County’s Complete Streets Policy and the draft Complete Streets Design Manual can be found online.
- Information about the County’s Complete Streets policy implementation can be found here.
- The latest version of the Complete Streets Community Engagement Plan can be found here.
- All details on the Design Manual, workshop details, and how to provide public comment can be found on the project website here.
- If you have further questions about the Complete Streets policy, the draft Manual, or the workshops, please contact the Office of Transportation at [email protected].