Earlier this year the South Silver Spring Neighborhood Association approved a resolution supporting the creation of the Purple Line – a mass transit line that would connect Bethesda to New Carrolton, via Silver Spring. Our announcement cited the environmental and socio-economic benefits that the Purple Line would bring and it was warmly received by many of our locally elected officials.

But what we’ve done so far is simply talk. Now it’s time for action.

In order for the Purple Line to become a reality, we need to convince state and federal officials to pay for the project. Lobbying against the Purple Line has already begun by those more interested in preserving their parochial interests than securing a greener future for our region. The Washington Post recently unveiled plans by the Columbia Country Club in Chevy Chase to fight the Purple Line, posing as anonymous “concerned citizens” more worried about potential damage to their private golf course than the public good. “’They make it seem like some community organization fighting the project when in fact they're a private country club," said Michael D. Madden, the MTA project manager on the Purple Line study.’ [Washington Post, 7/13/08].”

That is why we need to more aggressively support the Purple Line!

The Board is proud to announce that the SSSNA is sponsoring a matching gift fundraising drive for Purple Line Now, the umbrella organization  of groups supporting the creation of the Purple Line. To buttress our support, the SSSNA will match the total contribution by all South Silver Spring residents up to $750!

With your donation and the matching program by the SSSNA, we will help pay for the lobbying and public outreach work that are needed to make the case that the Purple Line is key asset for our region’s future success.

Don’t be fooled – not everyone agrees on the need for the Purple Line. But with our support, we will make the state and federal officials understand its importance for a greener, smarter future.

To participate in this innovative civic program, please log onto the Purple Line Now website and make an online donation or send a check in the mail:  http://www.purplelinenow.com/published/how_you_can_help/index.html

SSSNA will cross check all donations made during the month of September from South Silver Spring residents and donate up to $750.

We hope you take a few minutes to donate a few dollars and help fund the fight for a greener and cleaner future.

Sincerely,

South Silver Spring Neighborhood Association

Evan Glass, President
David Fogel, Vice President
John Murphy , Treasurer

The Washington Post reports that this morning an employee of the new Lotus Cafe on Georgia Avenue died in a fire, likely started by falling asleep with an unextinguished cigarette. Other employees of Lotus Cafe who also rent apartments in the second floor above the restaurant smelled smoke and reported the fire shortly before 2AM. No damage was done to the restaurant or other apartments.

Also reporting on this story is The Silver Spring Penguin, NBC 4, ABC 7, The Associated Press, WTOP, and ABC 2.

From http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/Apps/News/press/PR_details.asp?PrID=4835

On Monday, September 8, Montgomery County's Silver Spring Commuter Express Store will be getting a new name - TriPS - and a new location at 8413 Ramsey Avenue. The new store, at the corner of Wayne and Ramsey Avenues, near the Silver Spring Metro Station, will provide visitors with whatever they need to make their commutes easier. TriPS stands for "Transportation Resources, Information and Places to See" and is part of the preparation for the new Silver Spring Transit Center, which is scheduled to open in late 2010.

The TRiPS store sells bus passes and tokens for Ride On and Metrobus, SmarTrip Cards, Metrorail and MetroAccess farecards. Transit maps, schedules, and transit-related merchandise are also available. Environmentally-friendly travel modes are promoted, including transit, car/vanpooling, biking, walking, and car sharing.

TRiPs, operated by Montgomery County Commuter Services, provides complimentary services to help Montgomery County employers and their employees beat traffic, save time and reduce expenses, while being kind to the environment. Transportation marketing specialists are available to visit businesses and set up a customized commuting benefits program, tailored to its needs.

For more information, contact Montgomery County Commuter Services, which is also moving as of September 8, and will be located at 1110 Bonifant Street, Suite 400, Silver Spring. Call 240-777-8380 or 240-773-8747, or visit the County's website at www.montgomerycountymd.gov/commute

Leggett Announces Effort to Reduce Pedestrian Collisions in Silver Spring; Targeted Section of Piney Branch Road Has Highest Rate of Pedestrian Crashes in County

Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett today announced that, starting this fall, the section of Piney Branch Road between Flower Avenue and the County line in Silver Spring will be the first "High Incidence Area" (HIA) to undergo intensive efforts to reduce pedestrian injuries and fatalities and improve safety. This section of road has the highest concentration of pedestrian collisions in the county. The area that will be improved experienced 22 pedestrian collisions during 2005 through 2007.

"I believe we can dramatically improve pedestrian safety and accessibility for everyone in Montgomery County by using data-driven strategies to reduce pedestrian collisions," said Leggett. "We believe our new approach to targeting engineering, education and enforcement resources in areas with the highest rate of collisions will have a significant impact in improving safety for those most at risk. This effort is part of my goal to reassess what we are doing, keep what's working well and find new, creative ways to significantly expand our pedestrian safety program."

Last December, Leggett released his Pedestrian Safety Initiative that outlines seven strategies for improving walkability and pedestrian safety in the county. The first strategy recommends targeting pedestrian safety improvements in HIAs, which are road sections where pedestrian crashes are clustered. They are generally located in commercial areas, along transit corridors and near high-density residential neighborhoods with a significant number of pedestrians and high traffic volumes. Several of the worst HIAs are located in Silver Spring.

"One of the best ways to prevent collisions between pedestrians and vehicles is to eliminate trouble spots or 'high incidence areas,' which is where most of these collisions occur," said Montgomery County Councilmember Valerie Ervin, who serves on the County’s Pedestrian Safety Advisory Committee and represents Kensington, Takoma Park, Silver Spring and Wheaton. "My work with the County Executive on the Pedestrian Safety Initiative has shown that the Piney Branch Road corridor from Flower Avenue to Carroll Avenue is a 'high incidence area.' I am eager to implement pedestrian safety improvements in this area, because these improvements will reduce collisions and ultimately save lives."

The Piney Branch Road project, which is funded by the County, will be conducted in partnership with the State Highway Administration (SHA). Piney Branch is a State road, and the HIA also includes the State intersection of Piney Branch Road and University Boulevard. SHA is already planning an intersection improvement project at this location, so it will have the opportunity to incorporate any additional enhancements recommended through the HIA assessment.

"Safety is our number one priority; we focus our efforts every day on making sure that every driver, pedestrian, cyclist and passenger get home safely at the end of the day," said Neil J. Peder sen, Maryland State Highway Administrator and Governor’s Highway Safety Representative. "We applaud Montgomery County’s leadership in pedestrian safety and look forward to partnering with them in not only engineering improvements, but education and enforcement efforts as well."

Starting this month, the County's Department of Transportation (DOT) and SHA will begin the improvement process by conducting a pedestrian road safety audit that will:

1. Select a team of County and State experts to develop appropriate corrective strategies;
2. Perform site reviews under various conditions;
3. Analyze and prioritize safety issues and make recommendations to reduce risk; and
4. Present audit findings to stakeholders and incorporate feedback.

Once the audit is complete, engineering improvements will be made and the results will be measured. Examples of engineering enhancements that may be used include:

• Accessible pedestrian signals and countdown signals;
• Sidewalk improvements – such as new segments, rebuilding, adding ramps or widening;
• Increased lighting;
• Improved signs and markings;
• Enhanced pedestrian crossings;
• Pedestrian buffers; and
• Roadway adjustments (e.g. bump-outs, refuge islands).

An important component in the strategy for reducing HIA collisions is to conduct additional education and outreach on pedestrian safety along the Piney Branch Road corridor. DOT will conduct outreach to residents, employees, employers and visitors in this area of the County to ensure they get the message about the importance of safe walking behaviors.

DOT will be establishing a program to assess the effectiveness of HIA efforts. DOT has $600,000 budgeted to begin the improvement process for two high incidence areas.
This is one of five events that Leggett will hold during the first two weeks in September to highlight pedestrian safety and the progress the County is making on its pedestrian safety priorities. The Executive has designated the week of September 1 as “Pedestrian Safety Week” in Montgomery County.

The Pedestrian Initiative is available online at www.montgomerycountymd.gov/walk.

Sponsored by the Silver Spring Regional Center, Montgomery County Department of General Services- Building, Design and Construction Section and Montgomery County Public Libraries

First Design Meeting - Site analysis and constraints; community concerns and ideas

September 23, 7-9pm 
Round House Education Center
925 Wayne Ave

Second Design Meeting - Initial design concepts and brainstorming

October 7, 6:30 – 9:00pm 
Long Branch Community Center
8700 Piney Branch Rd

Third Design Meeting - Review and critique of conceptual designs

October 21, 6:30 – 9:00pm
Long Branch Community Center
8700 Piney Branch Rd

All of the Design Charrettes are opened to the public. We would encourage your participation at all three of the meetings.

Project details link

The Silver Spring Penguin reports that a pedestrian was struck and killed at 5:20AM today (Friday, August 22, 2008) at the intersection of Georgia, 13th St, East-West Highway, and Philadelphia Avenue by a vehicle traveling north on Georgia.

The cause of the accident and the names of those involved have not yet been released.

I know I've heard many people talk about how dangerous crossing Georgia Avenue can be, and how jay-walking is a growing problem. I myself have seen people cross diagonally through the Colesville Road and Wayne Avenue intersection during rush hour.

Whether or not this morning's fatal accident was caused by jay-walking, many people feel that we need to make these large roads that run though our neighborhood safer, especially with the several new condos, apartment buildings, and the new Mongtomery College Cultural Arts Center within a block of this intersection.

While searching for something using Google Earth, I discovered that Silver Spring has our first 3D photorealistic building: Eastern Village (and the storage building). Someone, supposedly from Google or the Department of Energy, painstaking created their building and I'm pretty certain they even got the door colors correct. If you zoom into the courtyard, you can even see a little bit into the lobby.

To see this, you can download Google Earth here (Windows, Mac, or Linux) and turn on the 3D buildings layer.

Google Earth is Google's desktop application for browsing their Google Maps database. In addition to streets, traffic, and satellite imagery, you can see points of interest, Wikipedia articles, weather, elevation, user submitted content, and much more.

Would you like a new park in South Silver Spring? If so, make sure to mark your calendar for the next South Silver Spring Neighborhood Association meeting on Wednesday September 10 at 7pm in the social room of 8045 Newell Street.

Montgomery County heard the call for more green space in Silver Spring’s Central Business District and as a result, Park & Planning has devised an ambitious proposal to create more residential parks in the area. Of the handful of possible locations for the new greenscape, the one designed for South Silver Spring holds the best chance of becoming reality. Park and Planning will give a presentation at our meeting.

The other important items at the meeting will be:

• Elections: There are four executive board positions that will be voted on: President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary. If you are interested in running for the board, please contact Dana Beam (Dana.Beam@gmail.com). As of this writing the Secretary position is vacant because of Henry Odenarian’s recent move out of the area.

• Committees: Aside from the formal elections, we’re hoping for more neighbors to become active within the organization. We’re looking for individuals to help our Redevelopment Committee and Safety Committee, which are great ways to help resolve and disseminate information about some of the growing pains we are all aware of, like construction and graffiti. 

• Purple Line Update: Debate on the Purple Line is heating up. SSSNA has already passed a resolution supporting the Purple Line and the board has a great new idea to show our transit-friendly community’s support for this future project. Details will be unveiled at the meeting.

What: SSSNA Meeting
When: Wednesday September 10 at 7:00pm
Where: 8045 Newell Street, social room

Aside from the formal elections, we’re hoping for more neighbors to become active within the organization. We’re looking for individuals to help our Redevelopment Committee and Safety Committee, which are great ways to help disseminate information about some of the growing pains we are all aware of (construction, graffiti, etc).

And as always, we welcome everyone’s ideas and suggestions on how to help make South Silver Spring a better place to live!

Your neighbor,
Evan Glass
President, South Silver Spring Neighborhood Association

After speaking with the leasing office at The Veridian Apartments, I learned that the first move-ins are scheduled for early to mid October. They will begin with the lower levels and work up. They expect to finish the move-in process in November or December.

It's exciting to see another set of residents move into the neighborhood!

It appears that Verizon is creeping their fiber installation into downtown Silver Spring. According to Verizon's website, they are working on the Woodside neighborhood as well as Fidler Land and Ramsey Ave in the central business district.

I do not have any information that suggests which parts of the CBD will receive FiOS, but it appears that Verizon is finally starting to close in, and I do remember reading some time ago that Verizon has a goal to rid themselves of copper wire.

Verizon FiOS is Verizon's new Fiber Optic Service, which offers television, internet and telephone. This new system is removing the company from the business of providing services over our nation's aging copper wire system. Pricing and offerings are very competitive with other local cable companies.