Results from our Elkridge Walk Audit!

Although 2020 was a year of immense challenges, the Streets for All Coalition had one big highlight to celebrate: our Virtual Walk Audit in Elkridge! Walk audits are one tool the Coalition uses to engage the public and affect change. A walk audit is a process that identifies street conditions that are a hazard to active travel and recommends changes that make walking, biking and access to transit safe and more convenient for multimodal users. Though we could not gather in person, the Coalition brought together a fantastic group of advocates and concerned community members to discuss needed changes to Montgomery Road between Rowanberry Drive and the Lawyers Hill Apartments.

More than 60 residents – including 18 walk leaders who helped facilitate discussions – joined the Coalition via Zoom to virtually “walk” the route and talk about how to make it safer and easier for pedestrians, bicyclists and others trying to access public transportation. Some big takeaways that the participants identified:

• Currently, Montgomery Road has disconnected sidewalks, is dangerous for pedestrians in many spots and limits access to community resources.
• The route needs improved sidewalks, more painted crosswalks and pedestrian signals, bike lanes and better lighting at bus stops and intersections.
• Officials should institute traffic calming measures to reduce vehicle speeds as well as a speed campaign for school-related traffic.

View the full report from the audit here.

Thank you again to everyone who participated, and stay tuned for updates on how you can help us advocate for better bike and pedestrian infrastructure in Elkridge and across Howard County!