Posts tagged Skateparks
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Overregulation of Silver Spring plaza harms vibrancy
Urban spaces thrive on spontaneity. We might want to impose rules on a park or plaza to make it seem safer or more pristine, but excessive regulations could kill the vibrancy that people go there for. Sometimes, we have to let people police themselves. Millions of dollars of public and private funding have gone into downtown Silver Spring over the past ten years, bringing with it… Keep reading…
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Veterans’ Plaza in Silver Spring worthy of The Turf’s legacy
Last week, I had a chance to walk around Veterans’ Plaza, the new small urban park that replaced The Turf at the corner of Ellsworth Drive and Fenton Street in downtown Silver Spring. I saw an array of benches, trees, unprogrammed space, and an amphitheater. Because of its simple layout and effective amenities, it will be even more successful than its celebrated… Keep reading…
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Urbanism comes in many shapes and colors
Why does a proposal for a sidewalk cafe generally draw widespread praise, but a suggestion to use public space for skateboarding engender scorn? Is there really something better about dining versus skating, or is it simply that younger, poorer, and/or more minority residents skateboard, whereas eating at an outdoor cafe is beloved by wealthier, whiter, and older people? Both… Keep reading…
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Silver Spring plaza instantly becomes de facto skatepark
Fresh off its inaugural weekend, the new Veterans Plaza in downtown Silver Spring appears to be a success, mobbed with people despite the ongoing heat wave. But residents who protested a deal giving much of the adjacent Civic Building to Round House Theatre might be equally surprised to find their new town square’s become a de facto skatepark. Designed by Boston-based… Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: It’s easy being green
Zoo listens to us; Green plan, needs green money; Planning Department veggies; People and things bumping cyclists; Rosslyn’s temporary plaza; The art avenue; X marks the cuts; Vote in Congress versus home rule. Keep reading…
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Skaters, planners discuss Silver Spring’s Woodside Park
Last Friday, five local skaters met with a designer and staff from the county Department of Parks to discuss building a temporary skate spot at Woodside Park in Downtown Silver Spring. Everyone hopes it’ll be open by this summer, but concerns remain about how other park users will interact with the facility. The proposed skate spot would be located on the north side of the… Keep reading…
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Downtown Silver Spring needs a large skatepark
Many kids who skate on and get chased from Downtown Silver Spring’s plazas and pocket parks have no memory of East of Maui, the skatepark on Ellsworth Drive that operated temporarily in the 1990’s before giving way to the Silver Plaza redevelopment. It was a pretty big place, attracting people from across the region. And even though it’s been gone for ten years,… Keep reading…
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MoCo makes “public-private partnership” with skaters in Kensington
Dan Reed writes the popular blog Just Up the Pike, focusing on eastern Montgomery County. He’ll also be contributing articles to Greater Greater Washington to further grow our coverage of this important part of our region. Welcome Dan! Keep reading…