Media Center

CALENDAR LISTING: Mostly FREE Fun-Filled November Programs at Montgomery Parks Nature Centers

SILVER SPRING, MD— Enjoy nature this November at the Montgomery County Department of Parks’ four nature facilities. Many of these programs are FREE and range from American Indian heritage celebrations to flying squirrels to nature portraits to nature hikes for little tykes.

Black Hill Visitor Center, 20926 Lake Ridge Drive, Boyds, www.BlackHillNature.org

• American Indian Heritage Celebration! (Course No. 59171)
  Saturday, November 1
  1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
  Join volunteer park naturalists and members of the American Indian Heritage Education Association (AIHEA) to celebrate American Indian Heritage Month. Enjoy authentic music and dance: learn about the drum and flute, listen to traditional and contemporary American Indian music, learn about Pow Wow dancing, join in a Friendship dance and do some Indian line dancing. Take home a craft souvenir, too! FREE program, no registration required.

• Family Day at the Visitor Center (Course No. 59114)
  Monday, November 3
  1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
  School’s out so bring the kids to the visitor center for an afternoon of “natural” fun. Short nature walks, hands-on activities and games. Drop by anytime during the program hours. FREE program, no registration required.

Brookside Nature Center, 1400 Glenallan Avenue, Wheaton, www.BrooksideNature.org

• Afternoon Tea with the Birds and Bees (Course No. 57134)
  Wednesday, November 5
  3:30 pm – 5:00 pm
  Enjoy our indoor bird and honeybee observation area. A park naturalist will identify birds and answer your questions. Tea and juice will be provided. FREE program, no registration required.

• Chalk Play (Course No. 57137)
  Sunday, November 9
  2:00 pm – 3:30 pm
  We'll supply the sidewalk chalk, you’ll bring the creativity! Fill our traffic-free driveway with drawings of your favorite plants and animals. FREE program, no registration required.

• Scavenger Hunt on your Own (Course No. 57145)
  Sunday, November 23
  1:30 pm – 3:30 pm
  Pick up a scavenger hunt sheet at the nature center and search for plants and animals. Return your completed sheet and win a prize!  Drop by anytime during the program hours. FREE program, no registration required. 

• Flying Squirrels (Course Nos. 57013 and 57014)
  Sunday, November 24 and Saturday, November 29
  4:45 pm – 5:30 pm (both courses)
  Catch a glimpse of these nighttime gliders and find out how they live. Rain cancels program. FREE program, no registration required.

Locust Grove Nature Center, 7777 Democracy Boulevard, Bethesda, www.LocustGroveNature.org

• Portraits of Nature (Course No. 58851)
  Friday, November 14
  7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
  Join us to celebrate local treasures during this “adults only” opening night reception for our annual art show featuring wildlife artists who have a connection with the region and specialize in capturing native flora and fauna. The show is open to all during normal nature center hours until November 21. FREE program, no registration required.

• Tuesday in the Park (Course Nos. 57984 and 57985)
  Tuesday, November 4, 11:00 am – 12:00 noon
  Tuesday, November 18, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
  Join a park naturalist at the Cabin John Regional Park playground to explore what's happening outdoors! FREE program, no registration required.

Meadowside Nature Center, 5100 Meadowside Lane, Rockville, www.MeadowsideNature.org

• Wee Little Historians (Course No. 57877)
  Thursday, November 6
  9:30 am – 10:15 am
  Your little one will explore pioneer life through specially designed games, food and crafts. Fee: $5.

• Tyke Hike (Course No. 57889)
  Wednesday, November 12
  9:30 am – 10:15 am
  Discover the bustling world around our nature center with a nature mini-hike and craft to make and take home. Fee: $5. 

• Feathered Friends (Course No. 57865)
  Tuesday, November 18
  1:30 pm – 2:30 pm
  As the weather gets colder, our feathered friends need our help. Learn how to transform a plastic gallon milk jug into a feeder to hang outside your window, so you can watch the winter birds as they feed. Fee: $5. 

• The Owls of Harry Potter (Course No. 57977)
  Thursday, November 20
  4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
  You've read the books, seen the movies and learned the spells . . . now explore the owls of Harry Potter. Learn about owl species and their magical lore and create your own messenger owl. Fee: $5.

Register online at www.ParkPASS.org using the course numbers provided. Find a complete listing of nature programs on ParkPASS.org as well.

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Contact:   
Kelli Holsendolph
Media Relations Manager
Montgomery County Department of Parks
301-650-2866

Montgomery Parks Annual Harvest Festival Line-Up of Activities

DERWOOD, MD—Today the Montgomery County Department of Parks announces its line-up of activities for the annual Harvest Festival at the Agricultural History Farm Park, this year Saturday, October 4 and Sunday, October 5 from 11:00 am – 4:00 pm both days. 

“Harvest Festival gives families a sampling of farm life from the 1850s to the present,” said Department of Parks Naturalist Grace Yick. “With tons of activities, there’s something for everyone!”

The Agricultural History Farm Park, 18400 Muncaster Road in Derwood, the host site for Harvest Festival, is a picturesque 410-acre park situated along Rock Creek. In addition to a barn and assorted farm buildings, the park also features the historic Bussard Farmstead, which will be open for tours both days of the Harvest Festival.

“We’re offering history hunts at the Bussard Farmstead this year during Harvest Festival,” said Department of Parks Museum Manager Shirl Spicer. “Participants will learn about the lifestyle of the farm family at the turn of the twentieth century, especially the Bussard family, as they hunt for historical objects placed near and around the house and outbuildings.”

This year, both days of Harvest Festival will also include:

• 11:00 am – 2:00 pm: Cider Press Boys LIVE performance
• 11: 00 am: Storytelling by the Twinbrook Tellers
• 11:30 am: Log Sawing/Sack Races/Relays
• 12:30 pm: Storytelling by the Twinbrook Tellers
• 12:30 pm: Threshing and Hay Bailing activities
• 12:30 pm: Sack Races/Relays
• 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm: Working Sheep Dog Demonstrations
• 2:00 pm: Storytelling by the Twinbrook Tellers
• 2:00 pm: Potato Digging
• 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm: The Starlngtons LIVE performance
• 2:30 pm: Storytelling by the Twinbrook Tellers
• 2:30 pm: Sack Races/Relays
• 3:30 pm: Log Sawing/Sack Races/Relays   

Additional activities during both days include tinsmithing, pumpkin painting, chestnut roasting, marble making, scarecrow making, live farm animals, such as chickens, pigs and goats, displays of antique farm equipment, gardening talks and demonstrations and participation in an archaeological site dig to see how professional archaeologists uncover secrets of the past. New this year, there’s also a corn maze!

There will be food and beverages available for purchase, an ice cream truck on-site and bake sale items. Also, numerous crafters will be on hand demonstrating their work such as blacksmithing, spinning and weaving, woodcarving and the Montgomery County Beekeepers will participate.

Admission for Harvest Festival is $10 per car, which includes parking. For more information call 301-924-4141 or visit www.AgHistoryFarm.org. On October 4 and 5, call 301-721-0312 for information.

Volunteers are still needed for Harvest Festival. To volunteer, call the Department of Parks Volunteer Services Office at 301-495-2464 or visit www.ParksVolunteers.org. All Harvest Festival volunteer positions are Student Service Learning Hour (SSL) approved.    

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Contact:    
Kelli Holsendolph
Media Relations Manager
Montgomery County Department of Parks
301-650-2866

Park Police NFL/Pepsi Punt, Pass and Kick Competition at Saddlebrook Park Postponed

SILVER SPRING, MD—Today’s NFL/Pepsi Pass Punt and Kick competition at Saddlebrook Park has been postponed due to impending inclement weather.  The competition has been rescheduled for Thursday October 2, 2008 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm at Longwood Community Center (19300 Georgia Avenue, Olney MD 20832).  It will be held in conjunction with Olney Community Night. 

Punt, Pass and Kick (PPK) encourages boys and girls ages 8 to 15 as of December 31, 2008 to showcase their talents in punting, passing and kicking a youth-sized football.  Scoring is based on distance and accuracy.  First, second and third place ribbons will be awarded for each of eight age groups. 

All participants must provide a copy of their birth certificate for age verification and must have their parent or guardian complete and sign an Entry Form/Release of Liability. Parents and participants can download the form at www.nflyouthfootball.com. 

The top finishers from each of the age groups at the local competition will advance to a sectional competition to be held in the metropolitan Washington area. Winners at the sectional competition will have their scores compared with other sectional champions, and the top five scorers from the pool of sectional champions advance to the Washington Redskins Team Championship, to be held at FedEx Field on Sunday, November 30, 2008 before the Redskins vs. New York Giants.

For more information contact Lt. Brian Smith at 240-876-6760.

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Contact:   
Lt. Karen Petrarca
Media (Information Officer)
Maryland-National Capital Park Police, Montgomery County Division
Phone: 301-929-5989

Montgomery County Planning Board to Consider Proposed Suburban Hospital Expansion

Montgomery County Planning Board to Consider Proposed Suburban Hospital Expansion

SILVER SPRING – On Thursday, the Montgomery County Planning Board will consider a proposal by a Bethesda-area hospital to expand by 238,000 square feet, a move that would require closing part of a road and demolishing some hospital-owned homes.

Representatives for Suburban Hospital, a 228-bed regional trauma center bordered by Old Georgetown Road, Lincoln Street and Grant Street, have requested an expansion to increase its patient rolls by adding 66 beds and to accommodate the use of more modern health care technologies.

After the Board considers the request, called a special exception, it will issue a recommendation to the County Hearing Examiner. A related application seeks to abandon part of Lincoln Street, between Old Georgetown Road and Grant Street.

About 40 residents have signed up in advance to speak before the Board about the hospital application.

Planners reviewing Suburban’s request recommend approval of the expansion, saying that the design and scale of the proposed new buildings fit with the general character of the neighborhood. For example, the new building would be lowest close to nearby homes, then gain in height toward Old Georgetown Road, with hospital activities oriented away from the residential area.

Staff further cited the hospital’s willingness to amend parts of an original plan, such as improving design of a parking garage, retaining more mature trees, and widening existing and proposed pedestrian and bike paths.

Staff worked closely with the hospital to achieve an efficient, well-designed garage that will have less of an impact on the surrounding neighborhood. At the advice of environmental planners, hospital representatives amended a forest conservation plan in hopes of saving 10 of 39 existing large trees. The applicant has an additional planting requirement of 2¼ acres of trees.

Suburban Hospital has been in operation since 1949. Hospital representatives say they have outgrown their existing buildings, and the lack of space limits how far they can advance with such techniques as robotic and radiologically guided surgery.

Some residents, many of whom are members of the Huntington Terrace Citizens Association, have expressed concerns about the design of the proposed expansion, the road closing and the demolition of 23 homes.

WHO:
Montgomery County Planning Department

WHAT:
Suburban Hospital expansion application

WHEN:
Thursday, September 25, approximately 9:15 a.m.

WHERE:
Planning Department Headquarters
8787 Georgia Ave.
Silver Spring, MD
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Montgomery Parks Gets a Helping Hand for National Public Lands Day Saturday, September 27

SILVER SPRING, MD—Montgomery County’s parks will get a helping hand from hundreds of volunteers this National Public Lands Day, Saturday, September 27.

“We have group projects organized in several parks for National Public Lands Day,” said Department of Parks Volunteer Services Coordinator Jayne Hench. “The Sierra Club, the Coalition for the Capital Crescent Trail, the Little Falls Watershed Alliance and others are all lending a hand this year.”

This year’s National Public Lands Day volunteer projects in Montgomery County Parks include:

• Cabin John Stream Valley Park, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon, meet at Cabin John Local Park, 7401 MacArthur Boulevard, Cabin John. Montgomery County Sierra Club members with Montgomery Parks Weed Warrior volunteers will manually remove invasive plants in Cabin John Stream Valley Park to save the park’s majestic trees.

• Capital Crescent Trail, 2:00 pm – 4:30 pm, meet at the Capital Crescent Trail intersection with Little Falls Parkway. Coalition for the Capital Crescent Trail members and Montgomery Parks will manually remove invasive plants from the trail, which is surrounded by large stately trees being threatened from the invasive vines surrounding them. Parking is available at the Bethesda Pool at 6300 Little Falls Parkway and Hillandale Road in Bethesda.

• Little Falls Stream Valley Park, 8:00 am – 10:00 am, meet at the gravel parking lot at the intersection of Little Falls Parkway and Massachusetts Avenue. Little Falls Watershed Alliance and Montgomery Parks Weed Warrior volunteers will manually remove invasive vines from Little Falls Stream Valley Park—home to many large native trees, Little Falls Stream and loved and enjoyed by many local residents.

• Rachel Carson Conservation Park, 9:00 am – 12:00 noon, meet at the gravel parking lot of Rachel Carson Conservation Park, 22201 Zion Road, Brookeville. Montgomery Parks Weed Warrior volunteers will manually remove invasive plants from the trails of this beautiful, large, pristine park.

• Brookside Nature Center, 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm, 1400 Glenallen Avenue, Wheaton. Join park naturalists in planting native shrubs and closing off a trail near the nature center using natural debris. Reservations required at www.ParkPASS.org (Course #57019).

• Little Bennett Regional Park, 9:00 am – 1:00 pm, 23701 Frederick Road, Clarksburg. Montgomery Parks is renovating the county’s largest park this National Public Lands Day by constructing a section of the Froggy Hollow Trail leading from a newly constructed parking area at the park. Volunteers will help clear vegetation and debris with hand toppers, saws and rakes and some tread excavation with hand tools. Call the Parks Volunteer Services Office at 301-495-2504 to register to help.

• Sligo Creek, 9:00 am – 11:00 am.  The Friends of Sligo Creek with Montgomery Parks is hosting the annual Fall Sweep the Creek volunteer cleanup for National Public Lands Day.  Visit www.fosc.org for exact meeting locations. For those who can’t make it Saturday, there is also a Friends of Sligo Creek sponsored cleanup scheduled in Wheaton on Sunday, September 28, from 1:00 – 3:00 pm.

“All of these projects are Student Service Learning hour approved, for young people 14 and up still looking to rack up some volunteer hours,” added Hench. “We appreciate the support.”

For more on these and other volunteer opportunities in Montgomery County parks, visit www.ParksVolunteers.org or contact the Department of Parks Volunteer Services Office at 301-495-2504.  For more on National Public Lands Day, see www.publiclandsday.org.

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Contact:
Kelli Holsendolph
Media Relations Manager
Montgomery County Department of Parks
301-650-2866

Fall/Winter Park Closures as Department of Parks Conducts Annual Deer Management Operations

SILVER SPRING, MD—Today, the Montgomery County Department of Parks announces its fall 2008, winter 2009 deer management operations season, which will result in several intermittent park closures. The department’s seasonal deer management operations will begin Friday, October 24 at Hoyles Mill Conservation Park and will be completed on Tuesday, March 31, 2009.  Park users are encouraged to note park closures, affecting specific park locations during this period. “Park Closed” signs will be posted surrounding the affected parks.

“We continue to see declining deer populations and deer impacts in areas where we have been able to employ these valuable deer management operations,” said Department of Parks Natural Resources Specialist and Wildlife Ecologist Bill Hamilton.

On select dates from October 2008 through February 2009, seven county parks will be closed from Sunrise until Sunset for managed deer hunts. For a complete list of the scheduled park closures. From January 1 through March 31, 2009, additional county parks will be closed from 5:30 pm until Sunrise—at night when the parks are closed to the public—for Maryland-National Capital Park Police-based sharpshooting of deer. Parks which will be affected by the Park Police-based sharpshooting program will be posted at www.ParksDeerManagement.org after December 1, 2008. 

“For more than a decade, the Department of Parks has maintained an impeccable safety record during these operations and we work diligently to make sure park users and neighbors are aware of these activities,” noted Hamilton. “We thank park patrons for their patience with these closures as we conduct these essential deer management operations to preserve the delicate balance of natural resources and public safety throughout the park system and its surrounding communities.”

Since these operations were implemented in December 1996, the Department of Parks has worked to control deer populations in county parks through managed hunts and Park Police-based sharpshooting. These operations are conducted carefully and with the utmost regard for protecting public safety. Private hunters conducting managed hunts for deer in county parks must meet the highest level of state and county safety standards in order to participate and the sharpshooting operations in the parks are conducted by expertly trained Park Police officers only.

The county parks department’s deer management operations have served as a model for much of the region. State, county and private agencies have employed similar programs in response to similar community impacts from deer and concerns about protecting natural areas. In Montgomery County, several government agencies and affiliates, as well, have implemented deer management efforts as a result of countywide concern.

“The Department of Parks also continues to seek out opportunities to expand our effort to maintain appropriate deer population densities throughout parklands,” Hamilton added.

In this regard, the department will explore proposals this year to implement new deer management operations on parkland in Darnestown, Fairland and Travillah. The Department of Parks will notify and solicit comments from communities likely to be affected by these proposals prior to making any decision regarding these parks.

For more on the Department of Parks’ deer management program, including a copy of the county’s deer management plan, Montgomery County Deer Management Work Group annual reports and information on newly proposed deer management operations, visit www.ParksDeerManagement.org.

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Contact:
Kelli Holsendolph
Media Relations Manager
Montgomery County Department of Parks
301-650-2866

Downtown Silver Spring at Night, Child with Horse in Ag Reserve Garner Top Prizes in Montgomery County Planning Department’s Great Communities Photo Contest

SILVER SPRING, MD – From a dramatic night scene of Silver Spring illuminated with city lights to an emotional image of a young child bonding with her horse on a county farm, the Montgomery County Planning Department’s 2008 amateur photo contest drew jaw-dropping images illustrating what residents like best about our community.

In its Great Communities photo contest, the agency sought original photographs taken in the county in the last year. The wide range of photos – of vibrant urban areas, agriculture, environmental conservation, recreation and historic preservation – represents Montgomery County’s true mix of amenities and its enviable quality of life.

Winning photographers – four adults and three youths – will receive modest cash awards and have their images displayed at the Magical Montgomery festival and other public events, as well as in Planning Department publications.

View the winning images and all 148 photos submitted.

Other winning photos include a striking detail of a window at the historic National Park Seminary in Silver Spring and a portrait of a young woman resting on a whimsical bench in downtown Bethesda.
Residents under age 18 who submitted entries were judged in a separate youth category. The winning photo of a group of bicyclists rounding a bend in Rock Creek Park near Kensington and a shot highlighting the county’s recycling center with an angle of a conveyer belt sending plastic bottles into a bin demonstrate an outdoorsy, conservation-oriented bent. The third place youth image shows a unique view of a young woman strolling with a soft drink on a plaza in Silver Spring.

Images were judged by a panel of seven, including Jim Thresher, a former Washington Post photographer, a member of a photo club based at the National Institutes of Health, and Planning Department staffers.
The contest was billed as a call for photos demonstrating the county’s high quality of life, including scenes depicting vibrant urban downtowns, rural life, parks/trails, people, buildings and public spaces, among other subjects.

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CALENDAR LISTING: Maryland Emancipation Celebration in Montgomery Parks

SANDY SPRING, MD—On November 1, 1864 slaves living in Maryland were set free by a new state constitution. Join the Montgomery County Department of Parks as we celebrate this significant milestone in Maryland history at several historic sites in the county’s parks. A night hike of the Underground Railroad Experience Trail will kick-off the celebration, Friday, October 24 and several other Emancipation Day activities are planned for Saturday, November 1, including a special program of events at Oakley Cabin in Olney.

Friday, October 24, 2008

• Night Hike: “The Night Sky and the Underground Railroad,” 7:00 pm, Underground Railroad Experience Trail at Woodlawn Manor Cultural Park, 16501 Norwood Road, Sandy Spring. Historian Anthony Cohen gets Maryland Emancipation Day started a little early with this night hike of the Underground Railroad Experience Trail. Co-sponsored by the Menare Foundation, Inc.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

• FREE Guided Hikes, 10:00 am, Underground Railroad Experience Trail at Woodlawn Manor Cultural Park, 16501 Norwood Road, Sandy Spring. Trained Underground Railroad trail guides will lead FREE interpretive hikes of the 2 mile trail from Woodlawn Manor to Sandy Spring, near the Sandy Spring Friends Meeting House.

• Open House, 11:00 am – 3:00 pm, Sandy Spring Slave Museum and African Art Gallery, 18524 Brooke Road, Sandy Spring. The museum and art gallery will be open to visitors FREE of charge for Emancipation Day.

• Maryland Emancipation Day Celebration, 12:00 noon – 4:00 pm, Oakley Cabin, 3610 Brookeville Road, Olney. The Maryland Emancipation Day program at Oakley Cabin will include guided cabin tours, a living history demonstration by Foodways Historian Michael Twitty, refreshments, spiritual readings and songs, archaeology digs, a keynote address by Fath Davis Ruffins, curator of the National Museum of American History, Behring Center, and for the kids, an Underground Railroad puppet show by Puppeteer Schroeder Cherry. All activities are FREE. Parking available at the Longwood Local Park, 19330 Georgia Avenue, Brookeville. Co-sponsored by the Friends of Oakley Cabin and the Underground Railroad.

• Cabin Tours, 12:00 noon – 4:00 pm, Josiah Henson Historic Site (“Uncle Tom’s Cabin”), 11420 Old Georgetown Road, Bethesda. The Josiah Henson Site will be open with FREE guided tours. Parking available only at the Montgomery County Aquatic Center/Wall Local Park, 5900 Executive Boulevard, North Bethesda.

Saturday, November 1, shuttle buses will run between Woodlawn Manor and the Sandy Spring Friends Meeting House (end of Underground Railroad Experience Trail hike) from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm and between Longwood Local Park and Oakley Cabin from 11:30 am to 4:30 pm. For more information on the Maryland Emancipation Celebration in Montgomery Parks visit www.ParksCulturalResources.org or call 301-650-4373.    

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Contact:   
Kelli Holsendolph
Media Relations Manager
Montgomery County Department of Parks
301-650-2866

Planners Recommend Greater Emphasis on Pedestrian Safety, Community-Friendly Roadway Design in Proposed Montgomery County Road Code Bill

SILVER SPRING, MD – Saying that high vehicular speeds, wide lane widths and other changes to streets and sidewalks in a set of road standards proposed by the county Department of Transportation would reduce safety for pedestrians and bicyclists, planners have asked the Planning Board to consider a better balance.

Planners will present their recommendation to the Board, which serves in an advisory role to the County Council on the Road Code standards, on Thursday. The comments come in response to new road regulations proposed by the County Executive on September 1 that will be submitted to the Council by October 15.

Those regulations would be part of the county’s first extensive Road Code revision in decades.

County transportation planners, who have participated for about a year in a working group that provided input into the proposed road standards, praised recent efforts by the Executive to introduce pedestrian safety measures such as bus stop improvements, traffic-calming devices and speed cameras.

Yet, planners say, a proposed increase of target speeds in the bill endangers pedestrians. Transportation officials propose higher target speeds on major roads in urban areas – from 5 mph to 15 mph over what the Council recommended last year – even though those areas see increasing numbers of pedestrians. Roads such as Wisconsin Avenue and Old Georgetown Road in Bethesda that are considered major highways are now posted at 25 mph; under the proposed regulations, the target speeds for similar roads would be between 30 mph and 40 mph.

Planners point out that drivers traveling at 25 mph can easily stop for pedestrians and pose a 30- percent chance of a fatal collision. If that same vehicle travels 40 mph, the probability of a fatal crash jumps to 85 percent.

Planners say lane widths for cars are too wide, encouraging speed, while sidewalks along major roads are too narrow for pedestrians and people piloting wheelchairs.

The proposed regulations would result in the removal or relocation of street trees between curbs and sidewalks and in roadway medians. A major element of the public realm, trees provide shade and shelter for pedestrians, separate walkers from traffic, provide relief from summer heat, cool stormwater runoff and add aesthetic value.

Finally, planners recommend that on-road bike lanes be specified for each type of road: rural, suburban and urban to standardize the county’s approach to accommodating bicyclists. While many of the proposed standards include on-road bike lanes or shared lanes, they fail to include guidance on where and how they should be applied.

WHO:
Montgomery County Planning Board

WHAT:
Recommendations for county Road Code standards

WHEN:
Thursday, September 18, approximately 3:30 p.m.

WHERE:
Planning Department Headquarters
8787 Georgia Ave.
Silver Spring, MD

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Montgomery County Planners to Host Community Meeting to Inform Downtown Wheaton Sector Plan Process

SILVER SPRING – Montgomery County planners, who just began working on a new community plan for downtown Wheaton, will host an open forum in the community to hear from residents about how they’d like the plan to take shape.

The meeting will begin with an opening presentation at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, September 24, at the Crossway Community Center in nearby Kensington.

The process of developing a new sector plan for Wheaton’s Central Business District will identify ways to encourage great urban design, efficient transportation, better pedestrian links, inviting public spaces, environmental sustainability and more. As part of their information-gathering, planners are conducting visioning sessions to learn from Wheaton residents, workers and business owners about what they think the Wheaton of the future should be like.

The September 24 visioning exercise will allow participants to visit any or all of three sessions on exploring Wheaton’s cultural identity; examining public features like streets and sidewalks; and discussing the types of open spaces appropriate for Wheaton.

One of four Central Business Districts (CBDs) in the county, downtown Wheaton holds great potential to become a more pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use downtown with both thriving businesses and diverse neighborhoods, planners say.

The Planning Department last examined Wheaton’s commercial center 18 years ago. Planners develop master and sector plans to create a framework for each community designed to last 15 to 20 years. Those visions help planners and policy-makers – such as the Planning Board and County Council – make policy and decide on proposed development.

Learn more about the Wheaton plan.

WHO:
Montgomery County Planning Department

WHAT:
Community visioning session on Wheaton CBD and Vicinity Sector Plan

WHEN:
Wednesday, September 24, 6:30 p.m.

WHERE:
Crossway Community Center
3015 Upton Drive
Kensington, MD