Painted pathway on driveway connects neighborhood to Department’s headquarters and downtown Silver Spring
SILVER SPRING, MD – The Montgomery County Planning Department, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, has painted a vivid, purple pathway on the driveway next to Royce Hanson Park in front of its headquarters. This colorful walkway was completed over two weeks in late June to provide a safe and attractive pedestrian connection between the Department’s offices, nearby Woodside neighborhood and downtown Silver Spring.
Planning Department staff initiated the project last year as a solution to the problem of people walking or biking through the parking lot on no particular path – and frequently strolling in front of moving cars. Staff decided that this situation could be improved by creating a piece of public art.
“We call it the Improv for Walking,” says urban designer Margaret Rifkin who led the project with Planning and Parks Department colleagues. “It’s an improvised, quick and inexpensive solution to improve the daily routes of people not only from our offices but from the neighborhood. We hope some of those who visit our building will be inspired to buy some paint and create similar paths on their own parking lots.”
The white-edged walkway, requiring 50 gallons of paint specially made for asphalt and concrete, leads past the MRO building entrance to an alley between a parking garage and a hotel that is often used to reach nearby shops and restaurants in downtown Silver Spring. The color purple was chosen to be highly visible while still being an attractive complement to the brick and greenery of nearby Royce Hanson Park. Accents of green and orange highlight a crosswalk design, which was inspired by the geometric artworks of Venezuelan-born artist Carlos Cruz-Diaz.
The pathway project reflects the key principles of walkability, human scale and context sensitivity that are being promoted by the Planning Department’s Design Excellence program.