Parking Space Became Park-land in Downtown Silver Spring

If you were in downtown Silver Spring around lunchtime last Friday, Sept. 16, and were desperately searching for a parking space on the street, you may have noticed there were fewer spots open on Ellsworth Drive between Fenton and Cedar streets.

These spots were taken over by the Montgomery County Planning Department to present a “Complete Streets” concept as part of International Parking Day.

Park(ing) Day is a movement that is six years old and is an event held in over 180 cities and 30 countries around the world. It temporarily transforms metered parking spaces in urban centers into public parks and other social spaces to engage, educate, or entertain the community. The point is to show alternatives to cars and asphalt for public street spaces.

The international day also draws attention to the creep of privatization and commercialization of public spaces. Rather than serve all citizens, paved urban parking spaces segment off land for narrow commercial use and storage of private vehicles.

This was the first Park(ing) Day observance in Montgomery County and the planning department hopes to make it an annual event. The planning commissions installation demonstrated the Complete Streets concept.

A “complete street” provides safe areas for cyclists and pedestrians, environmental features to diminish the harmful effects of stormwater runoff and a welcoming appearance.

“It’s a way of building a street to maximize the right-of-way (ROW) space making it more pedestrian, bike, and mass transit friendly while providing multiple ecological benefits,” explained Tina Schneider a senior planner at the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission.

At this year’s event, the planning department was joined by local businesses Pyramid Atlantic, the Green Commuter, and Growing Soul. Activities included art projects and demonstrations of the latest urban-designed bicycles and filtering used vegetable oil for diesel engines. The Congress for New Urbanism-DC created an “ocean of asphalt” via a chalk drawing and a county planner showcased an artistic view of a park constructed of tissue paper.

The demonstration lasted just a few hours from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on a chilly late summer day. It drew curious Silver Spring residents and workers out at lunch time, who wanted to find out what the installation was all about.

“I do believe the Park(ing) Day was a success,” said Schneider. “The majority of the visitors had no idea what a ‘Complete Street’ was or that the planning agency is working with other county departments on streets that can become ‘Complete.’ In addition, many visitors expressed gratitude for our outreach.”

Kathy Jentz is car-free and the editor of Washington Gardener magazine and a long-time D.C.-area gardening enthusiast. She welcomes your gardening questions.