Baltimore County’s Public Works and Transportation (DPWT) recently released its updated Transit Development Plan (TDP).
Baltimore County’s Department of Public Works and Transportation (DPWT) recently released a final draft of Baltimore’s County’s updated Transit Development Plan (TDP). The draft plan is a county-wide roadmap for improving and expanding transit service over the next five years. To ensure community members will be able to share their feedback regarding the draft report, County officials will host a virtual public input meeting on Tuesday, November 30 at 6 p.m.
According to the press release:
“Expanding access to easy, efficient, reliable transit is an essential element in our vision for a better Baltimore County,” Olszewski said. “We are so proud of our unprecedented efforts to build a stronger local transit system and look forward to finalizing this plan which help guide our efforts in the years ahead.”
The new draft assesses the county’s current services and identifies opportunities to improve mobility. Prior TDP plans focused primarily on supporting existing CountyRide service, but the latest plan examines public transit opportunities across Baltimore County, including services like The Loop and microtransit.
Here are some key recommendations from the plan:
The draft report released today includes a number of recommendations for short-term, medium-term and long-term improvements, including:
Short-Term Improvements
- Expanding CountyRide service hours from Monday through Friday until 8 p.m. to provide customers with greater flexibility in accessing key destinations.
- Piloting on-demand microtransit service in the Owings Mills community to provide a first mile/last mile mobility option that better connects residential and commercial areas.
Medium-Term Improvements
- Consider expanding CountyRide services to Saturdays.
- Explore expanding microtransit services in additional communities, such as Arbutus/Halethorpe, Essex/Middle River, Lochearn/Milford Mill, Southwest Baltimore County, and the Towson area.
- Creating crosstown microtransit bus routes in Dundalk, Essex, and Middle River, which can better connect residents with Tradepoint Atlantic, a major economic engine.
Long-Term Improvements
- Expanding The Loop service in additional communities, like Owings Mills
- Expanding crosstown bus routes along key corridors to create a countywide microtransit network