Silver Spring, MD – The proposed Paul S. Sarbanes Silver Spring Transit Center
should include well-designed entryways and pedestrian-friendly streetscapes,
the Montgomery Planning Board today told the county Department of Public Works
and Transportation (DPWT), which proposes to build the three-level transit hub
at the current Silver Spring Metro station.
Located at Colesville
Road and Wayne Avenue, the proposed transit center will put a new face on the
Silver Spring Metro with a structure that will integrate Metrorail and bus
service with MARC rail, intercity buses, taxi and hiker/biker trails. In a future phase, the project will include
retail stores and a hotel.
“This is an active
transit center honoring a truly fine public servant of this state, and we
really want it to be worthy of the name that’s on it,” said Planning Board
Chairman Royce Hanson. The project is
considered a national model for forward-thinking transportation planning.
Pedestrian access is
crucial to a station that now serves 27,000 Metro riders, 32,000 bus riders and
1,100 MARC train riders daily and is expected to increase to 97,000 patrons per
day by 2025. Without attractive surrounding features, mass transit users might
be discouraged from using the station, Board members said.
Today’s hearing was a mandatory referral, a process where
the Board reviews public works projects and provides recommendations on
functionality, design, circulation and other land-use issues.
The Planning Board also recommended that key pedestrian
entryways such as the Ramsey Avenue entrance feature brick, tree-lined
sidewalks typical of the rest of the revitalized downtown Silver Spring. The
Board pledged to help request additional public funding to achieve the
additional amenities if needed due to budget constraints.
The Board gave preliminary approval to the staff
recommendations on a host of conditions – such as creating generous building
setbacks for wider sidewalks and a bike path, creation of a public art
component, pedestrian crosswalks and road improvements to better accommodate
bus access – subject to developing an agreement to replace
Metro Urban Park on the proposed construction site with a plaza at the transit
center entrance and a green space across Wayne Avenue.
The Board requested to see the draft agreement between the Board, DPWT and the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority by next week’s meeting.