Howard County Transportation Leader: Connectivity Overlooked
John Powell, new administrator for the Office of Transportation, spoke of the need to prioritize transit during a meeting with Howard County nonprofits.
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When Wegmans opens in Columbia next month, the nearest bus stop will be on Stanford Boulevard at Magaw Road—which is not close enough, according to John Powell Jr., administrator of Howard County's newly created Office of Transportation.
“Right now the bus stop for Wegmans is not at Wegmans," Powell said at the May 16 meeting of the Association of Community Services.
"There wasn't somebody like an administrator from an Office of Transportation that was at the table during the planning process,” said Powell. "Transportation needs to be at the table."
The Wegmans bus stop was symptomatic of a larger issue, namely lack of consideration given to transportation in Howard County, said Powell, who started his position April 23.
Moving forward, Powell said he plans to integrate transit systems into development plans. Just as water and sewer access must be accounted for prior to construction, he said public transportation needs to be considered.
"When I say transportation, I mean the big 'T'," said Powell. "It's walking, it's bicycling, it's all modes."
It also extends beyond the Howard County lines.
"People travel regionally in this area," said Powell. "Approximately 70 percent of people who live in Howard County leave and go somewhere else for work, and about 70 percent of people that work in Howard County are coming in from somewere else."
As a result, "there needs to be a regional approach to how we handle transportation," said Powell, whose previous job was leading Central Maryland Regional Transit (CMRT).
CMRT coordinates transportation services in Howard, Prince George's and Anne Arundel counties. It manages Howard Transit, which handles bus service in Howard County.
Here are some initiatives Powell said he is working on at the moment:
- Communicating with Howard County citizens. The Office of Transportation will reach out to citizens to get a sense of their needs in a series of forums throughout the county this fall.
- Reducing the amount of time people spend in cars. Said Powell: "That means sidewalks, and that means bike paths and that means bus stops."
- Staying at 30,000 feet. Before the Office of Transportation came into being, details made it difficult for the Department of Planning and Zoning to oversee transportation for the county, for which it was previously responsible, said Powell. His office will look at the big picture.
Adam R
7:42 pm on Thursday, May 17, 2012
I am more concerned with getting a student from Elkridge Corners to HCC than I am if someone can take the bus to an upscale grocery store. Priorities must be in place as we provide public transportation to the masses. Schools, government locations should be a priority.
David Maier
8:49 am on Friday, May 18, 2012
Wow! When I was on the Howard County Transportation Board, Columbia was trying to get rid of ColumBus. They desperately wanted to dump the system on to the County because it was costing too much money. At that time, we were spending 100 thousand dollars per year helping support ColumBus as a County. Now we are spending 7 million dollars running the bus system and the return on investment stinks. It literally would be cheaper to pay for each person's taxi ride than it is to maintain this system. I would be cheaper to run mini vans instead of buses. I would be cheaper to combine the handicapped service with the bus service which would mean some off route stops.
As it is typical with Governments, we are building castles instead of serving people. It must be bigger, but bigger isn't always better.
By the way, Stanford and McGaw is directly across the street from Wegmen's. Is adding a stop rocket science?
Doug K
12:29 pm on Friday, May 18, 2012
A significant point of his statements only comes up in the end -- getting people out of cars. There are a large number of people who could easily walk to Elkridge Corners if only Hanover Road had a sidewalk or path to enable walkers. Those that do attempt to walk it are risking their lives, as there is rarely even shoulder available on which to walk.