ELLICOTT CITY, MD – The first Howard County Complete Streets Design Manual has been submitted to the Howard County Council for its consideration, after two years of development by Howard County and community members. The Manual is a technical document that guides County street design, including national best practices and Complete Streets design concepts that improve safety and accessibility for all users, including drivers’ bicyclists, pedestrians, and transit. The County Council will hold a hearing on the Manual on January 18th.
The Complete Streets Implementation Team has outdone themselves. We’re incredibly grateful for the many hours of time and energy that went into finding these solutions to guide our street design in the coming years. This is a critical milestone to move forward our vision of reliable and accessible infrastructure for all our residents, of all ages and abilities.
The Complete Streets Implementation Team consisted of County staff and community stakeholders, who worked over two years to draft the Manual and hosted multiple public meetings to seek input from the community. Close to 1,000 comments on the draft Design Manual were submitted by members of the Complete Streets Implementation Team, transportation professionals, advocates, and other members of the public. All the comments were considered for the submitted Design Manual. The endeavor was also assisted by the consulting firm Whitman, Requardt & Associates, LLP (WRA), a nationally recognized leader in Complete Streets implementation and transportation project design.
Howard County is one of 112 counties nationwide with some form of Complete Streets policy. If the Design Manual is adopted by the County Council, it will join five other counties nationwide with Complete Streets design manual guidance in place.
Updates to the Design Manual were required by the Howard County Complete Streets policy, which was adopted by County Council in October 2019. For more information, please visit the following websites:
- Howard County’s Complete Streets Policy and implementation
- Complete Streets Design Manual webpage
- Complete Streets Community Engagement webpage
If you have further questions about the Howard County Complete Streets Design Manual or Complete Streets policy , please contact the Office of Transportation at transportation@howardcountymd.gov.