A new trolley service will soon operate in Old Ellicott City, connecting visitors to downtown amenities and making Main Street more accessible.

“Our residents, business owners and workforce, as well as our visitors, share a common goal to make our town more accessible, connected and welcoming to all,” Howard County Executive Calvin Ball said during a news conference Thursday announcing the pilot program.

A fare-free circulator bus will run from the top of Main Street to Oella in Baltimore County, transporting passengers between the two areas in minutes. It will stop at Lot F, the Welcome Center, Main Street, Tiber Park and Lot A across from the Patapsco River. A stop at the courthouse will be available on days with events, extending the loop to serve more passengers. The service will begin on Saturday.

The circulator bus service will run during peak times, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on the weekends, with ADA-accessible buses available at stops every 10 to 15 minutes. The service is meant to address traffic and parking issues in the historic downtown, especially for those who have mobility challenges, said Trey Dickerson, administrator of the county’s Office of Transportation.

The service will be operated by the Maryland Regional Transportation Agency of Central Maryland and will connect with its Route 405, which serves Route 40 in Ellicott City. Each of the two buses in the circulator can carry about 12 passengers.

The trolley is inspired by the No. 9 trolley that once connected Main Street in Ellicott City to Catonsville and Baltimore decades ago, Ball said. It is part of the vision included in the 2020 Ellicott City Watershed Plan, which, with community input, outlined difficulties with accessibility and mobility in addition to flood mitigation needs.

“While there are nearly 900 parking spaces located throughout Ellicott City, they are dispersed across town,” Ball said, adding that the steep hills and narrow sidewalks of historic Ellicott City can present “real obstacles,” for some, especially those with mobility challenges.

The Ellicott City Partnership has heard from individuals in the area who are “wowed by the idea” and happy to see the trolley’s launch, Sharon Christiansen, executive director of the partnership, said. When she first started in the job, she heard the trolley bus service was a “wish list” item for the organization’s board president.

Del. Courtney Watson, who represents District 9B in Howard County, said officials have been asking for this service for four different county executives.

“And so, we really appreciate that this is going to make Main Street Ellicott City much more accessible to people with limited mobility, which is hugely important, as well as convenient for local shoppers and diners and tourists around the state who come to see us and around the country. So, we’re thrilled to see this, and it’s very cute, don’t you think?” Watson said, motioning to the blue and orange bus wrapped in a photo of Old Ellicott City.

The pilot circulator program will run for one year while the county assesses ridership data to inform long-term planning.

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