BikeHoward Plan Under Review, Residents Asked To Voice Opinions

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — Residents are encouraged to participate in upcoming public meetings discussing the future of Howard County's BikeHoward.

BikeHoward is the county's master plan that offers guidance for improvements to transportation and recreational bicycling, both on and off streets. Officials will be updating BikeHoward and are asking the public to help shape the plan's vision for the next 10 years.

"BikeHoward has helped guide us in the development of our county’s bicycle network and programs. Through our historic investments in the plan, we’ve been able to drastically expand the number of bike lanes and multimodal facilities throughout our community, improving the interconnectivity amongst our residents. We have been able to accomplish a lot these past 10 years and are excited to see what the future holds. With your feedback and guidance, this update will allow our Office of Transportation to ensure our bicycle master plan is continuing to meet the needs of all our residents and community members," stated Howard County Executive Calvin Ball.

As part of its update process, leaders will host four public workshops to discuss BikeHoward, answer questions and gather public comment. Transportation staff and project consultants will be on hand at each and the workshops will not include a formal prestation. The workshops will take place on:

• Feb. 23 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Howard County Library System’s (HCLS) Elkridge branch
• March 3 from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. at HCLS’s Miller branch as part of the Office of Transportation’s open house event
• March 5 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the county’s Department of Recreation & Parks’ North Laurel Community Center
• March 10 from 5 to 7 p.m. at HCLS’s Central branch

Those unable to attend the public workshops can view the meeting materials on the BikeHoward website starting Feb. 23.

Leaders anticipate having BikeHoward updated and ready for approval by the end of summer.