Leading the Way

On Friday evening I went with my wife and son to Thai Duram restaurant on Bonifant St. As mentioned before, the restaurant is next to the construction site for the Silver Spring Library and Purple Line station. The sidewalk along Bonfiant has been closed for a while now, and apparently the impacts this my have on pedestrians have been long-forgotten - if they were ever truly considered at all.

How do I know? Well, I took these photos on the way home - and they show several free parking spaces without parking meters. If the County knew that people were parking here, they would certainly put-up meters, right?

So, a major County project is now a prime candidate for Top Offender in Downtown Silver Spring. And the project has really only just begun. It is dangerous, slack, and shows a profound lack of understanding about pedestrians, urban construction, and safety. It is such a ham-handed approach that I find it literally offensive.

I watched as a few people walked in the street here. Some getting out of the cars they just parked there, others were pedestrians using thier usual route to get where they were going. It was dusk , so the lighting was distracting. Lots of car lights, but the sun was still setting in the west. Lots of Friday evening traffic - both pedestrians and vehicles. A bustling Downtown as the skies cleared and the weekend began.

Narrow passages at certain points that put you very close to cars turing on to Bonifant from Fenton. You could walk for a short stretch on the sidewalk, but both ends were bloced so that you had to walk in the street to get out. SCARY.

I sent word of this to people, but no one responded and things are still the same. Any suggestions? Is this something I can call in to 311?

What a great example Montgomery County is setting here. Total neglect of an issue they claim to care so much about. We can accommodate parked cars, but pedestrians have to deal with it however they can. How long? Another week? How about a month? Six? More?

We have room to let cars park here for free, but not for temporary pedestrian facilities.Oh, wear brightly-colored clothing .