Silver Spring’s citizens advisory board wants to send the county a message: Add more grass and less pavement around the new civic center. But a large-scale lawn might be impractical, a county rep says.
In a letter addressed to MoCo exec Ike Leggett, the citizens advisory board asked for more green space in front of the downtown civic center. Current plans call for a paved plaza with grass planted along its sloped perimeter (below).
“We’re just trying to have the jewel of downtown Silver Spring a little green,” board member Darian Unger said at Monday night’s meeting in Lyttonsville.
Unger, who represents East Silver Spring and Fenton Village, argued that a paved plaza would increase area temperatures and storm runoff. Instead, he suggested a mixture of hardscape and greenery like that seen in Boston’s Copley Square.
“This is doable,” Unger said. “These are plans that have not been properly explored yet.”
However, natural grass would be impractical in the planned plaza, Gary Stith, director of the county’s regional center, told the advisory board. Maintaining natural grass, he explained, would require limited foot traffic in the summer and no foot traffic in the winter.
“At this site, at this location, it’s virtually impossible to keep grass alive,” Stith said.
The advisory board will submit its letter to the county at a planning board meeting later this month. Construction on the civic center is scheduled to begin this spring.
Images courtesy of Chiwiri and the Silver Spring Regional Center.
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I have to admit Stith has a point. Grass works in a space like Copley Square or even Dupont Circle because it gets limited foot traffic – maybe just picnics or people throwing a Frisbee around – but, when we have events like the Jazz Festival, the grass will get trampled, and it’ll be expensive to replace over and over again.
I think it depends on how we want to program this space. We already have a fully paved plaza a half-block away – could some of Veterans’ Plaza be set aside for passive recreation? A lot of the kids growing up in apartments around here (as I did) don’t have anywhere else to play, so they go to The Turf.
thecourtyard says:
“…but, when we have events like the Jazz Festival, the grass will get trampled, and it’ll be expensive to replace over and over again.”
And this happens once or twice a year? Quite frankly The Turf was the last chance for Silver Spring residents who wanted a centralized park\green space\recreation space to get one. Do the math, there are no open spaces large enough for what people want in and around the core of the CBD. They are all spoken for. No one is going to demolish 15+ Story buildings for a public park, ain’t going to happen.
It seems like people want soccer and baseball fields in the middle of the CBD but this is an urban area not a national park.
The #1 reason I was really hoping the turf would stay is because I know there is no ther space that large available.
Better get your feet used to walking down Georgia to the Jesup Blair Park (which is sparingly used). Unless someone wants to turn the roof of parking garage into a green park, Silver Spring just lost it’s last chance for large centralized green space.
One subject that is not mentioned concerning more grass , is that it will become a sleeping ground for the homeless(of course in warmer weather).
The parks in the surrounding areas have already become sleep areas.
Now granted the homeless need a place to sleep but, they will also use, these parks as their private bathrooms.
One needs only visit the park by the Silvr Spring Library during the Spring and Summer.
To Gary Stith, Why not use the same fake/turf grass in the open space??? Seems to work great now, then you avoid the expense of maintaining the real grass. You could recycle the turf that’s already there!
The astroturf is better than grass. Grass sucks because it gets trampled and muddy and it stains your clothes and makes your skin itch. Grass can kiss my ass, but pavement is worse. Astroturf 4 Lyfe
The astroturf is a poor solution because it brings us back to one of the original issues of run-off and stormwater drainage/management. It doesn’t really help with the issue of raised temperatures in the vicinity either. Real vegetation, however, does. I definitely see that there would be a real issue of trampled grass however. I’m sure that this happens in other locations where festivals, etc. are held. I wonder how they deal with it? I know that clover is a lower-maintenance solution to lawns (also worth keeping in mind are the fertilizers and pesticides that can be integral in maintaining such a monoculture), perhaps there is a similar alternative that would work. I would hate to see the large green space go by the wayside. But it would do well to remember that it’s only green in color right now, (astroturf) not green in practice. As an aside, a community garden space for flowers or vegetables might be an attractive (lower maintenance for the county) way of keeping/making the space that much greener.
I have two points to make on this issue:
1. The “turf” looks like cheap green outdoor carpet (and it is). On a Saturday night, there is trash literally blowing around on the nasty thing. Silver Spring residents deserve something much nicer than that.
2. I don’t understand the argument that grass is too difficult to maintain. It will cost money to maintain it, but so what? We pay alot of money in taxes. Silver Spring and Montgomery County have money. Here is an example of a beautiful green space in Manhattan which I used to enjoy when I lived there. On a nice day, the lawn is full of office workers and at night there are outdoor movie festivals and other events, so it gets plenty of wear and tear and yet it is mainatined nicely.
Bryant Park:
http://www.bryantpark.org/the-grounds/overview.php
Regardless of what matieral is used, man-made or organic, this open greenspace needs to remain.
Silver Spring has a reputation, left over from the past 8-10 years, of being dangerous and rundown. While I was traveling in Colorado, a local told me I must be brave to live in Silver Spring. I told him it’s changed.
The recent revitalization of downtown have made the area inviting, safer and more friendly, but the single thing that can keep it from reverting to what it is, sadly, known for is this: Community.
During the nice weather, day and night, that greenspace is teaming with families, couples, and friends, having picnics, tossing a ball around, or just sitting and enjoying a comfortable, open area that they can share with their neighbors.
Not since our grandparents lived here have people had a place out in the open where they could gather, just because, to simply enjoy being with the people of their community.
You maintain that sense of togetherness, and you maintain a Silver Spring that people will want to be part of and care for.
We need that greenspace.
[...] a January letter to MoCo exec Ike Leggett (D), the advisory board called for grass, pavement and a veterans memorial in the plaza design. However, board member Darien Unger explained that the request did not exclude [...]