County planners unveiled yesterday an addition to their blueprint for road systems in and near Westminster, proposing that portions of road in a subdivision in the north end of the city be linked to create smoother traffic flow on and near area highways.

Planners told the county commissioners yesterday that Lemmon Road, which stops to make abrupt turns onto other roads at two points in the Windy Hills Farms subdivision, should be made continuous to lessen the potential for accidents.

The road could then be expected to better handle traffic to and from Route 97.

Besides that proposal, minor revisions were made to the planners' transportation plan for the county seat.

The county's Department of Planning met with the commissioners yesterday seeking approval for the transportation section of the Westminster Environs Community Comprehensive Plan.

That request was made after a series of public hearings and workshops held by the department and the county's Planning and Zoning Commission this fall. Last week, the planning commission gave its recommendation for the plan to move forward.

But Commissioners Robin Bartlett Frazier and Donald I. Dell, on their last day on the job, chose to let the board that will take office Monday consider the plan.

"There are things about it I don't feel comfortable with," Frazier said. "Maybe it's better for the other board to decide."

Planners are seeking long-term solutions to traffic congestion on Route 140 near Westminster, and on other highways in and near the city. The plan includes hiker and biker trails, public transit and car pooling recommendations.

"This area continues to grow and we have to relieve the congestion," said county planner Bobbi Moser at the meeting. She outlined several road realignments and reconstructions around Westminster that would alleviate traffic on the area's burdened state highways - Routes 140, 97 and 27 - and shift it to local roads.

An average of 35,000 to 50,000 vehicles pass by the TownMall on Route 140 daily, according to C. Rogers Jorss Jr., the State Highway Administration's travel forecaster.

"It's certainly the busiest road in Carroll County," Jorss said.

Moser said that if approved, the changes would take place over a 20-year span, with plenty of opportunities for amendments.

The commissioners' lack of action was a setback, Moser said.

"If they'd adopted it today, it would have been a done deal," Moser said. "This slows things up a bit. We'll have to bring the new board up to speed, but at least Julia Gouge is familiar with the plan."

For years, the idea of a Westminster bypass has been floated to create a loop that would divert traffic around Route 140 near the city. Gov. Parris N. Glendening rejected the $200 million bypass three years ago because it didn't adhere to his Smart Growth initiative to curb sprawl.

"The purpose of the plan is to move local traffic off state highways and overall it does that," said Shawn Siders, Westminster's town planner. "It does a good job trying to give people alternatives."

The plan has three priority projects that, if approved, would be included in the county's five-year master plan starting in 2004.

The Malcolm Drive extension would connect Market Street to Gorsuch Road and the Arnold Road realignment would straighten dangerous curves and widen narrow roads.

A third project concerns Westminster officials. The Bennett Cerf Road extension would provide a connection between Routes 97 and 27.

Siders said the extension would cut through the west branch of the Patapsco River and disrupt the municipal water supply.