Comments on just up the pike: skate debate continues in silver spring and beyond...

@Sligo If we say the ground level is along Wayne...

2009-10-29T09:20:24.023-04:00

@Sligo

If we say the ground level is along Wayne (where the Subway is), then the plaza would actually be the first level, according to the Europeans.

But you're right. I think the statement was accurate but not precise - they should've been clearer that it was outside, not inside the actual building.

The listservs are lighting up with concerns about the Woodside Park skate spot. It'll be interesting to see how neighbors respond to it when it finally opens in January.

A definite mistake The Gazette made -- they wrote ...

2009-10-28T15:23:25.467-04:00

A definite mistake The Gazette made -- they wrote that the Nov. 4th meeting at Park and Planning is scheduled for 7 am, when it's actually 7 PM.

A few relevant facts. Skateboarding is one of the fastest growing teen trends, and according to ESPN, it's THE fastest growing sport in America. In the past couple of years this area has seen huge growth in the numbers of kids (and adults) who skateboard, and it's only going to continue to grow as young people are trending away from team sports and towards action sports.

In 2007, the board-sports market was a $13 billion industry, and that has likely grown substantially since then. I'm amazed that no one has seen the economic opportunity there and opened a skate shop in City Place, especially since there are virtually no stores left there worth shopping at.

While skateboarders are often painted as rough kids with bad attitudes, I know of no other sport that regularly sees large groups of teens self-organize around an activity with everyone getting along. In the year that I've spent skating with these kids, I've seen no fights among skaters and virtually no serious arguments.

It should also be mentioned that many of the problems currently being discussed did not exist until DTSS and the Regional Office stopped allowing skateboarding on the lower part of Ellsworth. That area was never ideal from a skater's perspective since it's only flat pavement. But because of the desire among teens to congregate, most skaters skated there, and back then no one was skating Discovery and almost no one skated the office building mentioned in the article.

When a veteran Montgomery County police officer told me the reason kids were no longer allowed to skate on Ellsworth (because businesses said it was hurting sales), he noted that this was said right around the start of the recession, and he agreed with me that the reason given was bogus.

I would say it's not so much an error as an in...

2009-10-28T14:30:42.226-04:00

I would say it's not so much an error as an interpretation of what constitutes the first level of the building. The ground level has little to no office space and is mostly exposed. The "outside" portion is covered by the second floor and therefore might be considered part of the first floor. Were we in Europe, then their statement would definitely be incorrect.

I saw a kid absolutely eat it on the stairs of this building Saturday night.