Horse enthusiasts rallied to support a horse park in Howard, but neighbors to a possible park site remain wary of the traffic the venue could bring.
“It doesn?t appear that any of the roads around there could handle any of the traffic,” said Ron Abrams, president of Farside Homeowners Association, referring to a proposed site near these homeowners at the University of Maryland?s Central Maryland Research and Education Center in Clarksville.
The college?s farm is a primary location the county task force is eyeing as it examines costs and potential sites for a state horse park.
The state park, which would include a visitors center, museum, indoor showroom and at least 850 stables, would centralize and promote the state?s equine industry.
Based on the task force?s report, Howard officials will decide whether to vie for the park. Harford and Wicomico counties also have shown interest in the park.
Abrams and other neighbors said they weren?t opposed to building a state horse park in Howard and would welcome the revenue boost, but they were concerned the roads around the UMD site can?t handle the traffic from horse shows.
Fred Lewis, a task force member, said the events don?t bring hundreds of spectators, and the traffic impact is usually minimal.
But Kimberley MacLean, a resident of the Terra Maria community near Route 144 and Folly Quarter Road near the proposed site, wasn?t convinced.
“We want to make sure the infrastructure is put in place,” she said.
Columbia resident Lee Richardson also brought a slew of questions to the task force, which held a public hearing Thursday night.
Richardson questioned:
? How much money the park would bring the county,
? How it will be managed,
? Who would pay for the park?s construction.
“It comes at a very untimely point in the history of Maryland budgets,” he said.
Task force members said some of those questions could be answered in an economic impact study, which was completed for Anne Arundel when the county was vying for the park.
Several residents in the horse community lauded the idea, saying the park would allow riders to show and compete closer to home, and events would bring revenue to the county.
“I have been waiting 40 years for some facility,” said Becky Novotny, a member of several horse clubs.
ON THE WEB
Click here for more information on the Horse Park Task Force and an economic impact study conducted for Anne Arundel County.
