silver spring's most prominent intersection could get a new hotel

For decades, Silver Spring's most prominent intersection has been home to a gas station and a giant blank wall. Soon, a new hotel could fill this hole in the urban fabric.

Looking at the proposed hotel from above. Images from the Montgomery County Planning Department unless noted.

County planners are currently reviewing a proposal to build a 173-room hotel at the corner of Georgia Avenue and Colesville Road, two blocks from the Silver Spring Metro station. The hotel is geared towards long-term travelers, containing studio apartments with kitchens and a handful of one- and two-bedroom suites.

The proposal includes some features that would be available to the public, including conference rooms, a rooftop deck and bar, and 4,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space, including a coffeeshop. The sidewalks around the hotel, which today are narrow and have lots of curb cuts for the gas station, would become wider and gain street trees, and there would only be a single curb cut on Colesville Road.

term limits won't make montgomery county republican, and they won't stop development either

A broad coalition of people who are frustrated with Montgomery County government have thrown their support behind giving elected officials term limits, which will be on the ballot next month. The people behind the effort tend to be conservative and anti-development, but Montgomery is unlikely to become those things even if term limits happen.

Photo by Thomas Hawk on Flickr.

Earlier this year, local activist Robin Ficker successfully collected the 10,000 signatures needed to have a vote on whether the county council and county executive should be limited to three terms, known as Question B. The cause has attracted a wide variety of supporters, from Republicans unhappy with the county's openness to immigrants to civic groups who oppose new development in the county. These groups hope that they can get rid of sitting councilmembers and, in 2018, vote in ones who agree with them.

Robin Ficker after I interviewed him at a McDonalds in 2009. Photo by the author.

Montgomery County Democrats seem worried that this will actually happen. They have dubbed term limits an "attack on progressive government," as all nine County Councilmembers are Democrats. The campaign to stop Question B is mostly funded by sitting councilmembers, even though four of the five who would lose their seats probably aren't going to run for reelection anyway.

But much to the disappointment of supporters (and the relief of opponents), Question B's success won't change who Montgomery County's voters are.

the difference between maryland and virginia, in one photo

If you've ever flown out of National Airport, you might try to pick out the geographic landmarks you recognize: the Washington Monument, Rock Creek Park, or the Potomac River. Next time you're heading west, keep an eye on the river as it passes through Maryland and Virginia, and you'll notice one big difference between each state.

Virginia sprawl on the left, Maryland farms on the right. Photos by the author.

let's keep silver spring affordable by building housing at the old library

UPDATE: Sign our petition in support of affordable housing at the old library.

Montgomery County wants to turn the former Silver Spring library into affordable housing. Now neighbors are circulating a petition to make it a park instead, even though there's already a park next door.

The former Silver Spring Library. Photo from Google Street View.

Even before the Silver Spring Library moved to a new building last summer, Montgomery County has been trying to figure out what to do with its 1950's-era building and parking lot on Colesville Road.

In the past, Parks Department officials said they want to make it a recreation center. But that may not be necessary if the county goes with a proposal to build a bigger recreation center and aquatic center in a new apartment building a few blocks away.

This summer, county officials floated the idea of replacing the old library with affordable apartments for seniors and a childcare center. But some neighbors insist that the library become a recreation center and park, and are circulating a petition claiming that downtown Silver Spring has "no open space," that Silver Spring has enough housing, and that a park is the "green" solution.

Aerial of the former library site. Image from Google Maps altered by the author.

This isn't the first time some residents have raised these arguments, particularly when there's a proposal to build new homes. But Montgomery County has the right idea in using the old library for affordable housing.