MDOT - Maryland Department of Transportation
04/22/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/23/2025 06:55
Maryland Department of Transportation’s Complete Streets Demonstration Projects Sets Roadmap for Innovative Strategies to Make State Roads Safer
Projects in Howard County, Hagerstown and Bel Air were developed and deployed quickly in partnership with Smart Growth America, local governments
HANOVER, MD (April 23, 2025) - The Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) in partnership with the State Highway Administration (SHA) and Smart Growth America today announced the release of the final report for its Complete Streets Leadership Academy, a technical assistance program to test and evaluate roadway safety projects. The program included a series of workshops held last summer to guide the installation of temporary road safety measures in Howard County, the City of Hagerstown and the Town of Bel Air.
The temporary projects installed last fall targeted intersections or corridors with a known history of above average traffic fatalities or crashes. These projects were deployed in record time, going from concept to implementation in only three months, and were cost effective relative to other safety interventions. They addressed meaningful safety issues on the corridor, while balancing needs for all users. For example, the temporary project, also referred to as a demonstration project, in Hagerstown reduced average top speeds in the corridor by 15% and reduced the number of people going more than 20 mph over the speed limit by 90%, all while seeing a 20% increase in traffic volumes.
"Today's report marks an important milestone in how the Department approaches safety issues," said Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul J. Wiedefeld. "These quick-build demonstration projects will allow MDOT to deploy near-term, cost effective safety improvements, test their effectiveness, work with communities and make permanent the strategies that work."
The three projects were developed in a collaborative, workshop-based approach with local stakeholders. The workshops covered key topics including project design, performance measures, engagement planning, data collection, and storytelling. Lessons learned from this program will be applied to both demonstration and permanent safety installations in the future. Building on the success of these demonstration projects, MDOT plans to:
- Expand Project Implementation: Roll out additional Complete Streets demonstration projects statewide, incorporating lessons learned to further enhance transportation safety and accessibility.
- Engage Communities: Continue collaborating with local communities to gather feedback on these projects and ensure that transportation solutions meet the diverse needs of Marylanders.
- Monitor and Evaluate: Implement ongoing assessments to measure the impact of Complete Streets initiatives.
The report released today highlights the successes of the demonstration projects and offers suggested areas for improvement as Maryland looks to deploy quick-build efforts more broadly within the State. This effort will advance implementation of MDOT's new Complete Streets policy, a priority initiative for the Moore-Miller Administration that seeks to make roads safer for all users.
"Maryland's Complete Streets policy gives clear direction for making our transportation network safe, accessible and convenient for all users. We thank Smart Growth America for their training and support equipping SHA and local leaders so we can advance successful demonstration projects," said State Highway Administrator Will Pines. "This effort, along with the Pedestrian Safety Action Plan and other safety initiatives, show SHA's continued commitment to making Maryland roads safer for all users."
This report is part of Smart Growth America's Complete Streets Leadership Academy, a nationwide effort to equip and train local agencies and state departments of transportation to collaborate, innovate and commit to making changes together to address safety on state-owned roadways.
MDOT's Complete Streets policy, which went into effect June 1, 2024 is applicable to all agencies, including the State Highway Administration, Maryland Transit Administration, Motor Vehicle Administration, Maryland Aviation Administration, Maryland Port Administration and the Maryland Transportation Authority. Together, the agencies released an implementation plan to operationalize the policy in March 2025. To learn more about the policy and the plan, visit the MDOT's Complete Streets page .
Complete Streets is part of MDOT's Serious about Safety program - a sharpening of focus on safety through an enhanced, Department-wide safety campaign to further drive MDOT's safety initiatives.