Montgomery County Planning Board to Issue Recommendations Thursday on Proposed Silver Spring Transit Center

SILVER SPRING, MD – On Thursday, June 7, at approximately 1 p.m., the Montgomery County Planning Board will consider a proposal to put a new face on the Silver Spring Metro, considering an application to build a three-level transit center that will both house buses and provide better access to MARC rail, intercity bus, taxi and hiker/biker trails.

Eventually, the project – considered a national model for forward-thinking transportation planning – will include a mix of retail uses in front of the entrance to the existing station. Slated to be built at Colesville Road and Wayne Avenue in Silver Spring, the transit center will fully integrate a variety of commuting methods, allowing people to easily transfer among bus, rail, car, taxi and bike.

Thursday’s hearing is called a mandatory referral, a process where the Board reviews public works projects and provides recommendations on functionality, design, circulation and other aspects. The project is being brought forward by the county Department of Public Works and Transportation (DPWT) and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA).

County transportation planning staff has recommended approval of the mandatory referral with a host of conditions covering such things as generous building setbacks for wider sidewalks and a bike path, creation of a public art component, road improvements to better accommodate bus access, and a number of design and architectural treatments.

As part of the project, planning staff also seeks an arrangement to replace an existing hard-surface open space known as Metro Urban Park with a plaza at the transit center entrance and a smaller green space across Wayne Avenue.

WHO:

Montgomery County Planning Board

WHAT:

Mandatory referral hearing on the Silver Spring Transit Center

WHEN:

Thursday, June 7, 2007 – 1 p.m.

WHERE:

Park and Planning Headquarters

8787 Georgia Avenue

Silver Spring, MD