TOWSON, Md. — Baltimore County unveiled its first-ever master plan specifically for bicycle and pedestrian networks, though it's still a long way from implementation.
The plan lays out different scenarios for improving bike and pedestrian transportation, where they're most needed and how they could be implemented.
The top priority projects are in the Dundalk, Towson, and Parkville areas. Building all of them would cost at least $15.5 million and take a minimum of six years to complete, according to the plan's cost estimates.
(Those estimates don't include the most expensive project, the East Coast Greenway.)
The plan notes that the county currently has about 15 miles of bike lanes (mostly in the southwest/Catonsville area) and 145 miles of trails and shared-use paths (mostly in the northern and northeast parts of the county).
It mentions obstacles like the fact that e-scooters - and other motorized scooters - are currently banned in the county. The plan features a map of places with high demand for e-scooters and "demonstrates how the number and location of Universities and Colleges in the county could stimulate demand for micromobility."
The plan also shows items like an "equity analysis," which ranked communities based on linguistic isolation, lack of access to a car, income level, amount of children and seniors, race, and educational attainment. Sparrows Point and Owings Mills were determined to be the most inequitable, meaning they have the highest "concentrations of disadvantaged populations."
A public hearing is scheduled for 4 p.m. Nov. 16 at 105 West Chesapeake Avenue, Room 104, in Towson.
The County Council still has to vote to adopt the plan, and it first has to be approved by the county Planning Board, which is expected to vote in January.
