The Silver
Spring Regional Center connects Montgomery County and community members,
businesses, institutions, non-profits, visitors, and all interests in Silver
Spring.
Our mission
is to "Strengthen communication between the community and various agencies
of County Government; Coordinate necessary interagency action with respect to
each local area; and recommend programs and policies tailored to the local
community."
The work of
the Center is done through efforts in the Silver Spring Regional Area, which encompasses
the area south of the beltway (plus Four Corners), east to the Prince George
County line, south to the Washington DC line and west to Rock Creek Park.
In the
downtown Area, much of the work is done through the Silver Spring Urban
District which provides enhanced services to the Central
Business District to ensure that downtown Silver Spring is
maintained as a clean, safe and attractive environment to
promote a vibrant social and business climate to support long-term
economic viability and vitality. SSUD services include
ambassadorship , security, streetscape maintenance, walkway
repairs , tree maintenance, marketing, promotions
and special events. The Silver Spring Urban District sponsors a
summer concert series, the Silver Spring Jazz Festival, the Montgomery County
Thanksgiving Parade, the Taste the World in Fenton Village and other events to
attract people to downtown Silver Spring.
Downtown
is also an "Arts & Entertainment District." The goal of the
Silver Spring Arts & Entertainment District is to provide a welcoming,
eclectic, urban center in downtown that showcases the arts and entertainment
community, while providing a unique source of culture, recreation, and
entertainment for residents and visitors, and creates a dynamic economic anchor
for downtown Silver Spring’s continued redevelopment and revitalization.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
for the Regional Area
[1] Purple Line and BRT: The Silver Spring
Regional Services Center (RSC) worked with the County's DOT to move forward the
planning for the Purple Line Light Rail project as it nears the start of
construction. Community-wide meetings, information sessions, and dialogues were
held to discuss progress and the cost savings measures suggested by the State;
as well area specific convenings with various neighborhoods and groups
adjacent to future stations (i.e.: Wayne Ave ara residents; Lyttonsville and
Rosemary' Hills and their master planning process; Arliss Street
townhouses; and the business communities in Bonifant, Long Branch,
Takoma Langley, and Brookeville.) Similarly, work began with the
Community Advisory Committee (CAC) for the Rapid Transit System. The Silver
Spring RSC worked with DOT in identifying a diverse pool of participants from
the area's traditional and non-traditional civic infrastructure to serve on the
CACs.
[2] Small Commercial Hubs: The Silver Spring RSC is
working with the many stakeholders in the Area's commercial hubs (outside the core
of downtown and Takorna Park) to "celebrate today while plans made for
tomorrow." A new web-site directory was developed for Montgomery Hills;
working with neighborhood residents, a composite list of businesses in the
Brookeville/Lyttonsville area was generated; under the leadership of the
Long Branch Business League, new murals have been added to Long Branch; serving
on the Takoma Langley Commercial Development Authority, new banners were put
up, as well as a new ad campaign initiated; and, with collaboration
of the Urban District, the 5th Taste the World in Fenton Village was
highly successful.
[3] Placemaking: The continuing emphasis on
placemaking has yielded concrete ideas, including the recent experiment to
introduce quality busking ("street performances") in carefully
selected public spaces beyond the core of downtown to increase the sense of
safety and security, as well as providing a more enjoyable urban public
realm. Working through an intensive community input process, the implementation
of various pedestrian and bicycle circulation improvements are well underway
under the auspices of DOT's Bicycle and Pedestrian Improvement Impact Areas
(BiPPA.)
[4] Engaging the Community: The Silver
Spring eNewIetter has expanded its reach to nearly 5,000 recipients; and it is
routinely Facebooked and Twitted - as well as cut-and-paste to neighborhood
listservs. Participation in the Silver Spring Citizens Advisory Board
(CAB) is on the rise, with more residents attending not only the formal monthly
meetings of the CAB, but also the many meetings of its three Committees:
Neighborhoods, Commercial Economic Development, and Transportation, Energy, and
Environment.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
for the Urban District and Arts & Entertainment District
[1] Support of Veterans Plaza Events: The
Silver Spring Urban District supported over 70 events on Veterans Plaza - and
adjacent Ellsworth St., which is oftentimes closed for events as well - by
closing and opening the street, managing trash disposal, recycling efforts, and
general ambassadorship support.
[2] Production of Marquee Events: The
10th Annual Silver Spring Jazz Festival, was once a gain a great success; as so
was the
Thanksgiving Parade bringing thousands of people to downtown and
bringing major social and traditional media exposure to downtown. The
Taste the World in Fenton Village has now grown to be an expected annual event
to affirm the many independently owned restaurants in the southern part of
downtown Silver Spring.
[3] Collaboration with Other Agencies: Working
with DOT staff, the new VanGo schedule and route were implemented, now
providing for a real loop which mns later into the weeknights and Saturdays.
The Silver Spring Urban District, working with Department of GeneraI
Servicres, WMATA, DOT and others retired the IOS operations for the Silver
Spring Transit Center; and helped orient users to the new station, distributing
over 2,500 brochures. The SSUD reaffirmed its Weekender Program with the
Department of Conections, agreeing to continue this highly successful program
indefinitely.
[4] Recycling: The SSUD recycled approximately 5
tons of material (plastic, glass and aluminum bottles and cans). delivering it
to the Shady Grove Processing Facility and Transfer Station.
HOW THE WORK IS DONE
The work of
the Regional Center is done in part through the efforts of various advisory
groups. These include:
·
The Silver Spring Citizens Advisory Board
·
The Silver Spring Urban District Advisory Committee
·
The Silver Spring Arts & Entertainment Advisory Committee
Reemberto Rodriguez, Director
Silver Spring Regional Area
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