Planning commission approves updated Saint Mary's County transportation plan, sends it to county commissioners

The Saint Mary's County Planning Commission on May 12 approved an updated county transportation plan and voted to present the plan to the county commissioners for consideration.

The plan, prepared with consultant Brutus and Associates and reflecting data collected in 2022, lays out a 20-year program through 2045 of road, safety, bicycle, pedestrian and transit projects across the county and identifies state-owned corridors where capacity and safety problems are projected to worsen if no action is taken.

Why it matters: The planning commission and Public Works staff said projects in the plan are required for eligibility for certain state funding and that many of the county's most congested and dangerous links are state highways where county participation, coordination and funding commitments will be necessary.

Director of the Department of Public Works and Transportation Jim Gotch told the commission the report draws from the county's Transportation Advisory Committee, the Calvert–St. Mary’s Metropolitan Planning Organization and public comments. "Much of this data we collected was 2022," Gotch said, adding that the county manages about 1,625 roads, roughly 1,300…