SILVER
SPRING, MD – To provide a lasting legacy for a man who held
public service jobs throughout Maryland – most recently as part of the
five-member Montgomery County Planning Board – the board today announced it
will re-name a park in downtown Silver Spring the Eugene R. Lynch III Urban Park
Lynch, who died last week at age 50, was a Silver
Spring resident who began his career as a civic activist. He went on to serve as chief assistant to
Montgomery County Executive Neal Potter and as chief of staff to former Gov.
Parris Glendening, among other political roles. Most recently, he worked as
chief executive of an investment company financing private and government
development.
Lynch,
who joined the Planning Board last June, made an indelible mark, said Chairman
Royce Hanson, who with the rest of the board approved the park re-naming today
in a resolution.
“He brought his years of experience and wisdom to
bear on both regulatory matters and master plans, on parks, and on budgets and
administrative issues with a mixture of brilliant insight, tough judgment and
quiet persistence,” Hanson said.
Silver Spring Urban Park, located at the
northeast corner of Wayne Avenue and Colesville Road, is slated to be expanded
and improved as part of the design of the Silver Spring Transit Center. Now in the design phase, the transit center
will become a pedestrian-friendly hub for trains, buses, taxis and bicycles in
one of the busiest transit areas in the county.
When
the center opens, the park will be dedicated to Lynch’s memory. The location of the park, its urban design
and its connection to mass transit make a fitting tribute to their former
colleague, board members said.