Dale Snyder, who uses a wheelchair, relies on Howard County?s paratransit bus service, but she often struggles with delayed appointments and spotty contact with dispatchers.
“You really need to address a lot of problems,” Snyder told Howard County Executive Ken Ulman on Wednesday night at a forum in Columbia.
Concerns with the paratransit bus system, which is part of Howard Transit and provides transportation services for residents with special needs, was among a variety of issues tossed before Ulman and his department heads at the first public forum.
Several residents brought up the transit system and Ulman acknowledged problems existed.
“It sounds like we have a real issue on our hands, and we?ll address it,” he said.
Ulman sent a letter to the head of First Transit, which operates the buses, Thursday detailing the issues and asking for a plan of action, spokesman Kevin Enright said.
Also at the forum, residents questioned why Howard still had a water ban, urged Ulman to keep them in the loop in the downtown Columbia redevelopment and complained about traffic congestion and signs.
A few residents lauded Ulman and his department heads for holding the forum.
“It?s a pioneering undertaking,” said Bridget Mugane, president of the Howard County Citizen?s Association, adding the meeting promotes accessibility to government.
Resident Stuart Kohn called the event “a monumental change from the previous administration.”
Kohn pressed the administration on the need for adequate hospital beds for the growing county population. Howard County General Hospital has reached capacity, he said, and he wondered how the county will cope until the hospital expands.
The future of downtown Columbia was on several residents? minds. Ulman said the county would release a new version of the master plan in September and county officials are awaiting the results of the independent traffic study.
“There will be a lot of time for an open dialogue,” he said.
