Streets for All Coalition Celebrates its First Anniversary
What a year! Since we formed the Streets for All Coalition last summer, there has been a lot of work and progress to celebrate. From the passage of Howard County’s complete streets policy and the adoption of the WalkHoward pedestrian master plan, to outstanding participation from supporters showing up and testifying at public hearings and responding to action alerts, your work has made a difference. Though County Executive Ball included historic amounts of funding for complete streets in the budget, we had to fight to preserve as much funding as we could given the budget impacts of COVID-19. Together, we managed to restore critical funding that the County Council cut – especially funding for ADA ramps and other bike and pedestrian infrastructure projects – ending with a respectable $3.8 M budget for complete streets. All in all, we had a pretty great year. We can certainly all look at the past year with pride and know that our work has made and will continue to make a positive impact in Howard County.
At a recent coalition meeting, we shared a brief video detailing our work and successes over the past year. Make sure to check it out.
To all of our Streets for All partner organizations and the hundreds of residents who have supported better biking, walking and accessibility in our community over the years – THANK YOU. This work began years ago and we are grateful that you continue to journey with us with Streets for All. None of this would be possible without you.
But much work still remains. In the coming months, our coalition will be working with the county’s Complete Streets Implementation Team to make sure projects are carried out and completed in a timely fashion, as well as advocate for more funding in the county’s budget. Stay tuned for updates on how you can get involved.
The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the need for safe and accessible sidewalks, bike lanes, paths and crosswalks as many of us are relying on them now more than ever for physical activity, a mental reprieve from isolation and for essential workers to get to their jobs. The Streets for All Coalition will continue to work to make sure Howard County is a place where all people – no matter who they are or where they live – can walk, bike, use their wheelchair or take public transportation safely and easily
We want to hear from you!
What would you like to see Streets for All do in the next several months? Fill out this brief, two-question survey to let us know.
