More Sidewalks Needed In Howard Co. Residents Claim

COLUMBIA, MD — In October 2019, the Howard County Council unanimously approved County Executive Calvin Ball's legislation to enact his Complete Streets vision for transportation calling for safe paths for travel, whether it be by foot, bicycle, public transportation for automobile. But one community's residents claim their area is anything but safe.

Guilford used to be considered rural Howard County, but development has led to a change in that. Despite the increase in traffic, sidewalks are sorely lacking, residents say, making the area unsafe.

“I’m literally a stone’s throw from the school, and I couldn’t walk to school,” Rev. Tyrone Jones with the First Baptist Church of Guilford told WJZ.

His kids had to ride the bus to school even though they lived directly across the street. He said Guilford is not a pedestrian-friendly community. Annalisse Daly tried to walk her daughter to school, but the sidewalks zig and zag, randomly stopping and starting so they had to walk along guardrails and on curbs mere feet from traffic.

“We moved. We moved in large part because of this,” the mother of three told WJZ.

Other Howard County residents say the same scenario exists in their communities, too.

“We have a lot of sidewalks in Howard County that go to nowhere,” said Nikki Highsmith Vernick with the Horizon Foundation.

Vernick hopes the county will use the Complete Streets resolution, which calls for sidewalks, bike paths and other pedestrian-friendly ideas, into law.

“A resolution doesn’t bind our county to do anything, it sets forth a vision and sets for an opportunity,” she said.

A spokesperson for County Executive Calvin Ball told WJZ that the county shouldn’t be "bound to make the changes."

“In Howard County, a resolution has the force of law,” spokesperson Scott Peterson said in a statement. “We are fortunate and thankful to have a County Council and an active citizenry aligned to identify, prioritize and implement an equitable Complete Streets approach to transportation decisions.”