REGIONAL CENTER ISSUES: SSCAB Annual Report & Director's Monthly Report

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SILVER SPRING CITIZENS ADVISORY BOARD ANNUAL REPORT

The Silver Spring Citizens Advisory Board had a terrific year, during which we reaffirmed our core mission of being a forum for residents and county officials to share concerns, news and views with each other. By working extremely closely with the Silver Spring Regional Center, we also maintained our role as a facilitator among stakeholders in the diverse Silver Spring neighborhoods and extended our outreach into residential and business communities.

The highlight of 2011 was organizing the first Taste of Fenton Village, an event held on May 15 that showcased all the independent restaurants in Silver Spring’s Fenton Village neighborhood. The planning was undertaken by the board’s Commercial & Economic Development (CED) committee, which encouraged nearly two dozen “mom and pop” restaurants to participate in the event. Hundreds of area residents turned out to walk around Fenton Village on a self-guided food tour, sampling the restaurants best cuisine at $3 - $5 sample sizes. The event ended with a live musical band and dispensing raffle prizes to event participants. SSCAB board members received nothing but positive reviews from all residents who attended. Another event is already being planned for May 2012.

Below is a brief recap of meetings, discussions and events held at the meetings of the full SSCAB and our three committees:

Full SSCAB

[] Organized a meeting with PREZCO (Presidents Council of Silver Spring Civic Associations) on the county’s rewrite of the zoning codes

[] Discussed the county’s health care services with Uma Ahluwalia, Director, Department of Health and Human Services

[] Wrote a letter to the County Executive asking for a comprehensive strategy to combat youth violence

[] Discussed the difficulties of governing a municipality with Takoma Park Mayor Bruce Williams and other notable Takoma Park residents

Neighborhoods Committee

[] Walking tours were organized in various Silver Spring neighborhoods, where interested participants and civic leaders discussed problems affecting those immediate areas. Such tours were held in the Lytonnsville and Four Corners communities

[] A bicycle tour of Langley Park to discuss concerns from small businesses and transportation advocates

[] Met with business owners from Takoma Park to discuss their business association

[] Facilitated a conversation with principals from various schools in Silver Spring and Takoma Park to discuss youth related issues

Commercial & Economic Development Committee

[] Members acting as liaisons to Silver Spring Green, a new non-profit formed in Silver Spring create sustainable practices among local governments, businesses and communities

[] Explored ways to keep the Fenton Street Market at Veterans Plaza

[] Organizing the Taste of Fenton Village event

Transportation & Pedestrian Safety Committee

[] Held a joint meeting with the county’s Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Advisory Committee to focus on transportation concerns in Silver Spring

[] Regularly meet with county and state officials from DOT, MHA, MTA, DGS and MCPD to raise awareness of transportation and pedestrian safety issues

[] Urged additional funding for better sidewalk access

[] Discussed the route for the Montgomery County Thanksgiving Parade and the impact of the route change on local businesses

[] Push the county to designate more spaces in county garages for shared cars

As we look toward 2012, we are confident that the SSCAB is in an excellent position to build upon our previous year’s successes. Plans are already underway to hold a second Taste of Fenton Village on May 6 and the Neighborhoods Committee continues to examine how the county can better support the needs of area youth. The addition of many new board members in 2011 will also provide additional enthusiasm and a passion for community service.

The SSCAB board meets on the second Monday of the month and committee meetings are held on the fourth Monday of the month. All are open to the public.

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SILVER SPRING REGIONAL CENTER DIRECTOR's REPORT FOR DECEMBER 2011

1. Community Issues

a. Reuse of Certain Public Facilities: The Silver Spring Regional Center has convened various meetings (including with the Silver Spring Citizens Advisory Board) to explain how the County will determine the reuse of the Silver Spring Library and the 3rd Police Precinct once these facilities are vacated in the next couple of years. The Department of General Services was instrumental in laying out the process and options. We expect for there to be increasing conversations in the community about this in the months to come. We have already received many inquiries from private and non-profit interests.

b. Progress Place: The Department of General Services held an information session for the Request for Interest for the property currently used by Progress Place, including Community Visions and Shepherd’s Table. These services are expected to remain in the Silver Spring Area, in the vicinity of the current location. The site being analyzed is the rear of the existing Fire Station. The community has expressed wide ranging support for this location as an alternative that minimizes impact on the established existing single family residential area.

c. Lyttonsville Purple Line Rail Yard: The Silver Spring Regional Center continues to work – and meet - with the Lyttonsville community in its deliberation with various County agencies, the State, the Federal government, and elected officials to try to minimize the impact of the Purple Line rail yard proposed to be located near the Purple Line’s Lyttonsville Station.

d. New Middle School: The Silver Spring Regional Center, in collaboration with the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Center are helping to get the word out and ensure that the civic leadership will be participating in the process to formulate advice to the Montgomery County Public School Superintendent regarding the evaluation of candidate sites for a new middle school in the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Cluster. (This impacts the western part of the Silver Spring Regional Area.) Meetings are scheduled for the next couple of months.

e. Pertinent Plans: The Silver Spring Regional Center continues engaged with Park and Planning as the Long Branch and Takoma/Langley Sector Plans develop. In both plans, the issue of maintaining the area as mixed income communities with opportunities for affordable housing seems to be a hot topic of discussion. Of concern is how to pursue policies for the area’s economic vitality and manage its inevitable growth without negatively impacting the community and cultural character that its existing apartment dwellers bring to the area. (While these plans are key to the future of the Area, we are also working with various elements in the community to promote existing assets and how these can be maximized to build community today as we plan for tomorrow.)


2. Advisory Board Activities/Issues:

a. Silver Spring Citizens Advisory Board

[] At the December Meeting, Councilmember Floreen gave an update of the many Silver Spring issues the Council is dealing with. She also used the opportunity to listen to comments and answer questions. This was followed by a general discussion/dialogue of the history of the Silver Spring development.

[] The Board also voted to send a letter to the County Executive advising the County intervene with SHA to reconsider some of the sidewalk improvements being built on Georgia Ave in downtown Silver Spring.

[] While there were no Committee meetings in December, the Commercial and Economic Development Committee did hold a work-session to mobilize volunteers and define the ‘to-do’ task list for the May 6th Taste the World in Fenton Village event.

b. Arts & Entertainment Advisory Committee

[] Michael McBride (WMATA) was the guest at the meeting. He shared with the Committee WMATA’s approach to public space and art in transit stations – and at the Silver Spring redesigned station in particular. It was noted that beyond the infamous ‘penguins’ in the Colesville underpass, the Station will have no art… The Committee also heard a brief update/presentation from the Fillmore (which is represented on the Committee); and, reviewed how the incentives provided by the Arts & Entertainment District designation are being used. (There was some concern expressed that these benefits are not well publicized and thus there might be some opportunities for higher use if promoted more aggressively.)

c. Urban District Advisory Committee

[] The Committee heard from the Falkland developers and the First Baptist Church site developers and subsequently approved letters of support for their next step in the approval process. The Committee also heard a presentation from Rick Siebert (Parking Lot District – PLD.)

[] Additionally, after hearing from Lt. Bob Carter (3rd Police Precinct) the Committee voted to send a letter commending the County for its support of increased police presence in downtown Silver Spring, but also expressing concern regarding the evident difficulty in operationalizing this increase. (It seems the reduction in force caused by the number of transfers, reassignments, promotions and regular attrition is barely keeping up with the capacity to replace – and increase – the number of police ‘on the streets’ as budgeted.)


3. Other:
{Note: Since this is the first report of the year, it includes a list not only of what was done in December, but also many – though not all – of other issues, initiatives, programs, and projects we are working on at this time.}

a. Safety and Security Downtown: Coordination and collaboration efforts of public and private interest to ensure a safe downtown Silver Spring is becoming increasingly efficient. We have established a series of regularly scheduled internal meetings and work-sessions among the various critical agencies. This is proving to be very effective in increasing communication and ensuring we are proactive in matters related to safety and security in downtown.

b. Montgomery Hills: There are various activities going on in this area of Silver Spring, with the Regional Center active and/or coordinating them. We worked with the community on banners that will be going up in the near future. We are also ready to unveil a web-based listing of all the businesses in the area; and are designing a pedestrian level signage for the area. Nearby, we are working with Ft. Detrick as they prepare to reach out to the community regarding their activities in the Forrest Glen Annex. (Among the changes: The Walter Reed Medical Museum is now part of the Anenx.) These – and other activities – are all part of our comprehensive attention to Montgomery Hills.

c. Development Inquires and Status: Inquires regarding development opportunities in downtown Silver Spring and vicinity seems to be picking up. In the recent weeks there’s been many more ‘feelers’ from the development community regarding what is going on in Silver Spring and its potential for continued growth. The Silver Spring Regional Center, working at times with the Department of Economic Development and others, provides information and support to these inquires on an on-going bases. The Center also maintains a list of pertinent links to what is going on in the area of developments in the pipeline, under construction, and in the approved planning stages (including the major public sector projects: i.e.: The Library and the Transit Station.)

d. Silver Spring Stories: Two recent events - the Smithsonian Institute ‘conversation’ at the AFI and the showing of the movie (“Rights of Butterflies”) with the Gilchrist Center - sparked an on-going interest in continuing the community discussion regarding how to ensure that the issue of ‘immigration and migration’ is incorporated in our traditional civic infrastructure. Among other things, this is facilitating our intent to recruit members from this segment of our community to serve on boards, committees, and commissions. We are also working closely with OCP on related issues.

e. Long Branch Community Economic Development: There are various constructive efforts coming together in Long Branch that indicate a positive movement towards affirming the existing community economic development assets of that area worthy of being celebrated today as they plan for the future (i.e. Purple Line and Master Plan.) The Regional Center is working closely with the Long Branch Business League (through the Montgomery Housing Partnership consultant to the Department of Housing and Community Revitalization) and a new entrepreneurship effort (the Flower Avenue Antique and Flea Market) to stimulate community and economic activity in the area. We are also working with DOT on efforts to improve pedestrian safety, particularly on Piney Branch.

f. Takoma Park’s New Ave: The Silver Spring Regional Center continues to work closely with the City of Takoma Park in its many efforts that impact the broader Silver Spring Area. Among these are their initiative to highlight New Hampshire Avenue as a community asset, under the ‘flagship’ effort aptly named “New Ave”. We participated in merchants meetings and are helping to promote this initiative through our communications tools.

g. “Downtown” Silver Spring: The Silver Spring Regional Center has begun to work closely with Downtown Silver Spring (the Corporate entity) as they bring together their new Management Team. This has been - and will continue to be - a critical partnership to ensure the long term, viable and sustainable success of downtown Silver Spring.

h. Thanksgiving Parade Debrief and Area Promotion: Together with the Recreation Department we held a debriefing session with the community to go over ‘what worked’ and ‘what can be improved’ for the Thanksgiving Parade. This year we were very intentional in using the Parade as an opportunity to promote the small, independently owned businesses throughout downtown Silver Spring, particularly in the southern end of downtown (Fenton Village) where the Parade ends. We also used the opportunity to promote the Small Business Saturday national effort (the Saturday after “Black Friday”.) Volunteers and our AmeriCorp were instrumental in passing out flyers to Parade participants.

i. Silver Spring Regional Outdoor Markets: The Silver Spring Regional Center is working with Sen. Jaime Raskin and others to bring together the various (at least seven!) outdoor markets in the Silver Spring Area and vicinity to develop a joint promotional campaign and maximize cross-marketing opportunities. This effort is as much a ‘community building’ effort as it is an ‘economic development effort’… The emerging theme is “Life Happens Where Community & Commerce Meet”.

j. Signage for downtown Silver Spring: The Convention and Visitors Bureau brought to us the opportunity to provide input and advice for State Highway signage that would identify destinations points in Silver Spring. A community meeting was held to help formulate options for the proposed signage system. The Silver Spring Regional Center is coordinating this effort as we continue to also pursue how to most effectively institute a comprehensive way-finding system for downtown Silver Spring.

k. New Community Efforts: We continue providing whatever support we can (mostly technical assistance and information) to three new efforts that have proven to be very successful in Silver Spring. These are Silver Spring Green, Silver Spring Senior Village, and Safe Silver Spring. We routinely meet with the leadership of these efforts as well as participate in their meetings, gatherings, and events as often as possible.

l. Up-Coming: Looking forward to January, there are two key events we are part of that are critical to the Regional Center and help us ‘build community’. These are: County Executive Budget Forum (Thursday, January 12th) and the MLK, Jr. Day of Service (Monday, January 16th.) We are working with other agencies (particularly the OMB and OCP respectively, to promote these events and ensure their success.

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A SILVER SPRING HOLIDAY

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Happy Holidays. Seasons Greetings. Merry Christmas. Feliz Navidad. Happy Hanukkah. Happy Kwanza. Happy New Year!

(If I left out some Holidays, visit
http://familycrafts.about.com/library/spdays/bldecdayslong.htm
for a pretty comprehensive list of others, including some quite whimsical - like National Egg Nog Day and the National Day of the Ninja!)

While we may celebrate this season for different reasons, a common elements to most holiday celebrations is the idea of connecting with others. Some focus on family; others focus on friends (and even foes!); yet others focus on strangers... And oftentimes many of us try to focus a bit on all the aforementioned. Some travel far; others welcome others to their home; and, then there are those that just want to ‘get away from it all’...

We’ve all heard of the power of ‘buying local’... Well, how about the power of ‘gifting & serving local’? Right here in Silver Spring we have so many organizations, institutions, families, and individuals in need of our support that it really merits the question: What am I giving - and how am I serving - locally? (Please note: This in no way shape or form should be construed as a challenge to those of us that also ‘give and serve’ regionally, nationally, and internationally... It is not a matter of either/or; it is a matter of both/and.)

It is simply amazing how sometimes we walk right by, look right through, and choose to not see the real difficulties faced by many of our very own community members literally right in our mist. While Silver Spring’s poverty is not necessarily ‘in your face’, there are some serious ‘pockets of poverty’ that are very real. And, it is not only the poverty. It is also the alienation, economic dislocation, and hurt that is amongst us right here in Silver Spring...

However, we are extremely fortunate to have in Silver Spring public, private, non-profit, and faith initiatives that do a tremendous job in addressing all these needs and situations. Some of it obvious; other not so much:

- Our public ‘safety net’ programs - while faced with serious funding challenges - is alive and well. But, they do need our help. Many all welcome volunteers. Don’t assume they have all they need! Stop and ask.

- Many of the private entities and corporations in Silver Spring provide opportunities for their employees to ‘get involved locally’. While some of these opportunities may not be always evident, they are there. Don’t assume they don’t exist! Stop and ask.

- Our locally serving non-profit networks are always inventing new ways to do with less traditional resources to help our community. If you are on the board, know the staff, or simply have participated in one of their programs and/or activities, please consider financially supporting them. Don’t assume they’ll come to you - they may simply be too busy doing their work! Stop and ask.

- The faith community in Silver Spring is so incredibly active individually and in coalitions helping those in need, the isolated, and the deprived. We have a faith congregation in almost every block. Regardless of whether you worship locally or not, please consider joining one of our faith community’s social justice efforts. Don’t assume they’ll want to convert you - they just want to join you in the struggle! Stop and ask.

Whatever you do for the Holidays and wherever they may take you, we hope you will take a minute to consider how you are contributing your talents in your own community. The possibilities are truly endless! Stop and ask.

And, if all of this talk turns you off and makes you want to rebuttal, you may want to celebrate Bah Humbug Day... more info at:
http://www.holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/December/humbugday.htm
:-)

See you around Silver Spring in 2012!

FLOWER AVENUE HOLIDAY MARKET SPRINGS TO LIFE ON SATURDAYS

Here's a "guest blog" from Chris Lancette, the entrepreneur that is doing the Flower Avenue Holiday Market

FLOWER AVENUE HOLIDAY MARKET SPRINGS TO LIFE ON SATURDAYS

I’m excited to report that our up-and-coming home-based business (Orion’s Attic) has launched the Flower Avenue Holiday Market on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. through December 24. Located at the corner of Flower Avenue and Arliss Street, the market is designed to achieve several short-term and longer-term goals that center around the idea of linking community with commerce.

For the holidays, we want to create a new destination in our own neighborhood for people to shop locally and for entrepreneurs to generate income. Along with a number of our vendors, I live within minutes of the Holiday Market. I hope everyone in Montgomery County and beyond comes out to peruse antiques, art, books, collectibles, furniture, hand-made clothing and accessories, holiday baskets, jewelry, and all kinds of other treasures.

This is just the beginning.

There is tremendous entrepreneurial and artistic talent in the Long Branch community. We want to celebrate it, show it off, and nurture it – while giving residents a great shopping experience. We are already exploring options to keep this momentum going at this same site in 2012 thanks to the support of Flower Avenue Shopping Center owner Greg Fernebok, whose enthusiasm and generosity is making this operation possible. He is allowing us to donate the rent we’re paying for the space to IMPACT Silver Spring. We are partnering with IMPACT – a nonprofit organization dedicated to economic empowerment -- to give a few new entrepreneurs a chance to sell their products at a market for the first time. One sells cosmetics by Mary Kay, another makes beautiful curtains.

We are also creating space for local service providers to promote themselves … like the “Tutor Table” of foreign language translators and tutors who will soon make their debut. A great local restaurant, La Escudilla, will fill the air with the tantalizing scent of its cuisine. We are also in the process of creating a coupon booklet to encourage market shoppers to explore nearby businesses.

Orion’s Attic is itself a local business run by Won-ok Kim and me. The mission of our home-based antique and high-end flea enterprise is to enable people to “buy good stuff, do great things.” We partner with and serve great Montgomery County nonprofits in everything we do, from donating a percentage of our profits to conducting fundraisers for them. We are open by appointment, sell online through our Web site and other venues, provide estate sale services, and throw huge “Upscale Yard Sales” like the ones we do at our home and the fundraiser we did for Pyramid Atlantic in downtown Silver Spring last October.

Our effort to create a Saturday market in Long Branch is the next stage of our evolution and it is already making an impact. Vendors are generating sales. We’re putting local teenagers to work and we are spending money at Silver Spring businesses that are printing our signs and providing our supplies. We even bought an old truck that was parked about 100 feet from the market site. The seller himself is an industrious young entrepreneur who is seeking to buy a bigger truck he can use to make deliveries for companies needing his help.

We hope everyone can make plans to visit the Flower Avenue Holiday Market each Saturday. There will be additional vendors (including a rare books dealer on Dec. 10) and other attractions each week. We’re also grateful for anything you can do to help us spread the word through social media and word of mouth. We’ve got a few thousand flyers to distribute, too.

Visit www.orionsattic.com for more information about the market and to learn more about what we’re doing to bring commerce and community together in Silver Spring. You can also contact me directly if you would like to get involved.

Let’s celebrate Long Branch together. Hope to see you Saturday!

Christopher Lancette
Co-proprietor, Orion's Attic
“Buy good stuff, do great things."
chris@orionsattic.com
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Everybody Loves a Parade!

Come share the fun that is a Parade!

To wet your appetite you can view two short videos from last year’s parade:
Pageantry of the Parade
What People Say About the Parade

You can also read the Parade as featured in the Washington Posts Apartment Showcase HERE.

The Parade starts at 9:30 a.m. So, come early and have breakfast - and stay around afterwards and have lunch – in one of the many eateries throughout the area. For a comprehensive list of restaurants (and more!) visit our website HERE.

The Parade has been held every year since 1997. Grand Marshalls have included past Washington Nationals Manager Manny Acta, FBI and ATF agents that lead the sniper investigations, and our past County Executive, Doug Duncan. This year’s Grand Marshall is our County Executive, Ike Leggett.

The MC will be Brian van de Graaff ABC 7/WJLA-TV’s meteorologist… And, when you come don’t forget to set your DVR to record it! It will be ‘live’ on NewsChannel 8.

One of the beauties of this Parade is that it is much more than just a parade… This is a great opportunity to bring family and friends to enjoy what our community is becoming: An amazing mix of people from all walks of life, distinct backgrounds, every economic level, and wonderful life experiences… The Parade is indeed “Silver Spring”!

The Parade is also a great opportunity to be “where community meets commerce”. The Parade does have a positive economic impact on many of the area businesses, from the smallest, independently owned shops and restaurants in Fenton Village to the mix of retail opportunities and eateries on Ellsworth Drive… You can find it all right here in downtown Silver Spring!... We encourage you to ‘walk around’ and discover that hidden place you might not be as familiar with – you might be surprised at what you find… And, don’t forget to stick around and take a spin or two on Veterans Plaza’s skating rink.

Lastly, if you have not done so yet, definitively stop and ‘soak in’ the beautiful three panels that now dignify our Veterans Plaza… What a better way to kick off Thanksgiving Week than to thank our veterans by patiently reading these beautiful ‘letters home’!

c/u Saturday!

Reemberto Rodriguez, Director
Silver Spring Regional Area

SHARING OUR FAITH COMMUNITY's HOLIDAY MUSIC

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If your faith community is located in the Silver Spring Regional Area*; you are offering a holiday concert; you’d welcome neighbors of different faiths joining in; and, it is free, we invite you to post the details as a ‘comment’ on this blog. We’ll take care of gathering the info, making a comprehensive list, and e-blasting it.

One of the neatest things about living in Silver Spring Regional Area is the incredible number of faith communities that dot our landscape. With the holidays coming up, many of these faith communities will be celebrating with music concerts.

Most often these musical events are welcoming of all, regardless of congregational membership or faith orientation. Some of the most vibrant, exhilarating holiday music we hear is oftentimes from faith traditions other than our own. These concerts and musical events can be truly beautiful and a great opportunity to celebrate what connects us.

Our faith communities are a major integral part of our cultural fabric and provide solid anchors to our civic and social justice work. The agendas of different faith communities often intersect in the work they do with the disadvantaged. However, we are oftentimes so busy doing good in our focused project or program that we forget to check in with our neighboring faith communities to see if by occasionally collaborating we could have a more pronounced impact… Maybe by listening and enjoying each other’s music we can begin establishing the rapport that could lead to many possibilities in 2012!

If your faith community is located in the Silver Spring Regional Area*; you are offering a holiday concert; you’d welcome neighbors of different faiths joining in; and, it is free, please post the details as a ‘comment’ on this blog. We’ll take care of gathering the info, making a comprehensive list, and e-blasting it.

Simply ‘cut & paste’ the following into the ‘comment’ section of this blog and add your information:
[] NAME OF FAITH COMMUNITY:
[] NAME OF CONCERT:
[] DATE(S):
[] START TIME(S):
[] CONTACT PERSON (w/e-mail):
[] OTHER INFO:

(*The Silver Spring Regional Area consists of the area in Montgomery County south of the Beltway (plus Four Corners), east of Rock Creek Park, and west of Prince George’s County. It includes the City of Takoma Park all the other wonderful neighborhoods, and downtown Silver Spring.)

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What folks were saying at the Community Services Week "Party"

October 22, 2011 was a great day in Silver Spring – and a great day for Montgomery County!

We celebrated the end of Community Services Week with a wonderful event on Veterans Plaza. A great band was playing while many community organizations and institutions had table with information about how they work with volunteers to help our community. (This came after a day of volunteer projects in the Civic Building.)

The Silver Spring Regional Area’s own “Community Engagement Specialist” (Andre Roa - 'Dre- , our AmeriCorp team member) made a map of the area and asked folks to put a pin indicating where they live (if they live in our area.)

He also asked them to put a ‘sticky’ on the map sharing what they like about this amazing community… Some of the comments included:

[] Diversity
[] ] We have urban gardeners; we have doc film fests at AFI; we have cool small businesses; we have the best restaurants (Mandalay, my fave); we have the Quary House & Side Bar & Adega; we have parks – Sligo & Long Branch and we have NICE PEOPLE!!
[] Silver Spring Ave. Ah-ha! We grow hopes…have instant music james…and merriment on the trampoline. Yay! Oh – great block party too!!
[] They are friendly and very gentle and polite
Artists last stand! Living outside the box
[] Best neighborhood ever!
[] Diversity of food, color, and language
[] Everything I need is in walking distance (metro, groceries, movies, food, the park, etc.)
[] Indian Spring – a great & active neighborhood
[] Like the friendly walkable environment and all our diverse neighbors, businesses, and organizations supporting each other.
Festivals!
[] Zombie Walks are here!
[] Lovely, supportive neighbors; access to downtown Silver Spring & Takoma Park; festivals galore; and a strong, warm sense of community.
Cool people, interesting stuff to do, Quarry House, Side Bar, and Impact Silver Spring.
[] I live Ruatan Street. We have a lot of police taking care of our street.
[] An extremely diverse neighborhood.
[] Great places to walk to – also dog friendly!
[] I feel it safe where I live and peaceful.
[] I like that it is a very family oriented community. It would be great to bring the neighborhoods together in a bigger community.
From the time that I came there, it is like getting hard to leave my neighborhood! I love it!
[] Why is Downtown Ellsworth Drive still open to traffic??
[] How can we make crossing Wayne Ave & Fenton St safer (as a pedestrian, some crazy drivers have had some close calls)?

What a cool, simple idea to get a sense of what folks think!... If you see “Dre” in one of our upcoming meetings and/or dialogues, please thank him for doing this!

{And, if you have not done so, please click the 'follow' button to get future postings of this blog automatically.}

Reemberto Rodriguez, Regional Director
Montgomery County Silver Spring Area

Walking and Biking Around Silver Spring - Dialogues, Conversations, & Ride Alongs

It is as if this month was “walking, pedestrian, and biking month”! If this is a topic of interest for you, you will definitively want to mark your calendar for the amazing array of opportunities coming up to get involved, make an impact, and learn more about how we get around (safely!) in Silver Spring other than in cars.

Walkability Dialogue!

Starting this evening, we’ll have a dialogue on the ‘walkability’ of Silver Spring. Various folks that have invested a lot of time in this issue will be facilitating a conversation to highlight how ‘walkable’ Silver Spring is; and is not. Please stop by the Civic Building at 7pm tonight (Tuesday, October 11th) and join us. For the flier, see:
http://issuu.com/silverspringregionalcenter/docs/wws_20flyer_20large
And, for a past blog posting on this issue, visit:
http://silverspringspeaks.blogspot.com/2010/04/where-one-mile-will-get-you-in-silver.html

“Complete Street” Conversation!

Next week (on Thursday, October 20th) the Planning folks are bringing in an expert on a related subject matter (“Complete Streets”) for one of their highly successful Speaker Series events. The event will be at their headquarters. (Free!) For more info, visit the link at:
http://www.montgomeryplanning.org/research/growth_policy/speaker_series/2010/

PTSAC comes to Silver Spring!

And, on November 3rd the Silver Spring Citizens Advisory Board is hosting the Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Advisory Committee (PTSAC) meeting. (This gathering will also be the official meeting of the SSCAB’s Pedestrian Safety and Transportation Committee.) The County’s PTSAC has been instrumental in improving the opportunities of pedestrians to walk around all of Montgomery County. In Silver Spring in particular, they have worked in the three “High Incident Areas” of note: Piney Branch and University Avenue; the Four Corners commercial area; and Georgia Avenue in downtown. Come join us as the Committee engages community members in a critical dialogue of how to make Silver Spring safer for pedestrians. The meeting will be held at the Civic Building at 7pm.

I hope you will take advantage of one – or all – of these wonderful opportunities to make a difference in how we can feel – and be! – safer as we walk and bike around Silver Spring.

Reemberto Rodriguez, Director
Silver Spring Regional Center

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