Howard officials look to expand transit services for workers

BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Howard County officials are exploring ways to expand transit service and parking for workers, including those who need to travel to Fort Meade.

This week, officials released an interim five-year transit development plan that outlines findings and alternatives for improvements for the county’s two main bus components: a fixed route for regular commuters and a paratransit service that serves senior citizens and people with disabilities.

The report lists some underserved areas, like Fort Meade, where there is no service largely because workers live in different parts of Howard County, from the Route 32 corridor to Route 100 to Laurel, said Carl Balser, Howard chief of the division of transportation planning.

“It would be difficult to craft a route to capture a large percentage of people because they’re scattered,” he said.

“Because a lot of them are upper-middle income and professional, they can afford to drive.”

To compete with the independence driving inherently provides, express services to the fort may be needed with fewer stops and no-hassle parking, he said.

Options include a pickup point in the Savage area, such as a Park & Ride lot where other services convene, or a site in Columbia, he said.

In another transportation plan, Howard County Executive Ken Ulman last week announced an agreement with the state that would expand the overcrowded Park & Ride lot on Snowden River Parkway.

In the transportation report, officials plan to continue providing service to common destinations for employees like the Mall in Columbia, Howard Community College, Route 40 businesses and Howard County General Hospital, while having more stops along the Route 1 corridor.

“We support continued system improvements to better accommodate demand,” said Heidi Gaasch, director of government relations with the Howard County Chamber of Commerce.  

“Such improvements are significant to the business community, as they are critical to securing and preserving a dependable work force,” she said.

Forty-seven percent of fixed-route transit riders commute to work, according to the latest transportation office survey in 2005.

That would translate into about 380,000 work-related trips this past year, Balser said.

jkowalkowski@baltimoreexaminer.com

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