Safe Streets And Roads For All Action Plan Draft Released By 3 Harford Co. Towns

BEL AIR, MD ? The first draft of the Safe Streets and Roads for All Action Plan 2024 has been released. The final draft should be ready in June. The project is a joint effort between Bel Air, Aberdeen and Havre de Grace made possible with a $175,000 federal grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation?s Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program.

The goal of the project is to see how the three towns can make their streets safer for people as well as bicyclists, mass transit users and people with disabilities, officials said. The Harford County communities are working with a consultant to conduct the studies, supported by public input, analysis of traffic and pedestrian counts, crash data and reviews of intersections that are considered problematic or unsafe.

Bel Air officials are aiming for a ?zero deaths approach? in their initiative to improve pedestrian safety in town. The SS4A program provides grants to communities working towards reducing to zero the number of fatalities and serious injuries from crashes involving motorists and pedestrians or cyclists, officials said.

Town officials have identified nine intersections, several that are near schools, in Bel Air that experience significant pedestrian and vehicle traffic and have generated concerns about safety.

The nine intersections in Bel Air that are being studied are:

? Office Street and Courtland Street at South Bond Street near the Circuit Court and District Court buildings (See Photo)

? Kenmore Road at South Main Street near Bel Air High School

? Ellendale Street at North Main Street near the Ma & Pa Heritage Trail entrance

? Moores Mill Road at North Hickory Avenue by the Del Plaza shopping center

? Pennsylvania Avenue at North Hickory near the Bel Air Library and the municipal parking garage

? Lee Way and North Hickory near Bel Air Elementary School, Saint Margaret Parish and Shamrock Park

? East Lee Street and Main Street near the Armory

? Gordon Street at the confluence of Bond and Main Streets near the Shop Rite supermarket and many other businesses

? MacPhail Road at South Main Street near Homestead Wakefield Elementary School