Improving pedestrian access in Howard County — particularly along sections of U.S. 1 and on routes connecting to public transportation — is among the key recommendations in an update of the county’s Pedestrian Master Plan.

Produced by the county Office of Transportation, the plan is an update of a 2007 document and is among several transportation related studies being reviewed by the county. For instance, last year the County Council approved plans for a countywide bike path network, and the county continues its work on the Central Maryland Transit Development Plan to improve bus service in the county.

The Pedestrian Master Plan update included public meetings and an advisory team formed in 2015, and includes recommendations such as proposals for new or improved sidewalks, crossings, bus stops and curb ramps.

Chris Eatough, the county’s bike and pedestrian coordinator, said the update is a chance for the department to review how the original plan fared in the past 10 years and see where “priorities may have shifted.”

He said a key area the plan focuses on is pedestrian access related to public transportation. The plan offers recommendations to ensure bus stops and public transportation are safely accessible by foot and are compliant with requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Of the county’s 566 bus stops, 421 are in need of an ADA element, according to county data.

Department officials did fieldwork, walking and assessing pedestrian conditions throughout the county, Eatough said, while gathering public input through meetings and surveys.

“If you can have a sidewalk and crosswalk that can be used by an 8-year-old and an 80-year-old, then everyone in between can also use it,” he said. “We design for the ends of the spectrum.”

Larry Schoen, a Columbia resident and the county’s Multimodal Transportation Board representative to the pedestrian advisory team, said the plan includes a variety of solid ideas and much-needed pedestrian connections throughout the county.

But he said it will do little to improve life for walkers without funding and commitment from county officials. Schoen said implementation of transit plans should be expedited to better align with the pedestrian improvements.

“The plan itself means everything and at the same time it means nothing,” Schoen said. “For it to mean something, we need [County Executive Allan Kittleman] to put in the proposed budget funding for that pedestrian plan, combined with better funding for public transit.”

Fieldwork included identifying dangerous locations in the county, particularly U.S. 1. The area along the major roadway is known as a threat to pedestrians. Most recently, a man was hit in November while attempting to cross the road, and in 2016 six people were killed in Howard County on or near the roadway.

The plan designates U.S. 1 as an “area of special focus,” and the county is currently performing a safety evaluation for ways to improve its safety in the next five years. Schoen described portions of U.S. 1 lacking sidewalks as one of many “micro areas” in the county in need of “little connections that can make an enormous difference.”

The updated master plan looks to address those dangers and others, putting a priority on pedestrian enhancements to areas that are missing sidewalks and crosswalks, and improving maintenance, Eatough said.

Recommendations include reducing the number of traffic signals allowing right turns on red at intersections with a high volume of pedestrians, developing a “Beyond the Minimum” program for ADA compliance; and introducing a countywide Safe Routes to School program to help children walk or bike to school.

The plan outlines 44 “structured projects” to be implemented in the county, the majority of which are to install sidewalks and crosswalks in different areas, as well as improve bus stops. The projects range in cost from just over $10,000 to more than $400,000. The plan also lists 17 “priority connections” for spots in the county that need crosswalk connections.

Eatough said the department plans to present a final plan to the County Council in the coming year.

kmagill@baltsun.com