Silver Spring’s urban advisory committee voted Thursday to support the development of a paved Veterans Plaza. The decision contradicts a citizens advisory board letter in support of more green at the planned civic center.
In a unanimous vote, the urban advisory committee agreed to draft a letter in support of existing plans for Veterans Plaza. Those plans involve replacement of the artificial turf at Fenton Street and Ellsworth Drive with a paved surface, pavillion and seasonal ice rink.
Altering the plaza’s design to accomodate a grass surface would be unproductive at this point, said Jon Lourie, an architect and committee member. Maintaining a grass surface also would be expensive, Gary Stith, director of Silver Spring’s regional center, told the committee.
Committee member Pete Esker, a military veteran, added that the planned veterans memorial complemented and “softened” the civic center’s design. A lawn-turned-loitering spot in front of the building would subtract from the memorial’s significance, Esker said.
The urban advisory committee’s support of a paved plaza conflicts with a citizens advisory board letter calling for more natural grass, approved two weeks ago.
Board member Darian Unger argued that a paved plaza would increase area temperatures and storm runoff. Instead, he suggested a mixture of hardscape and greenery.
The citizens advisory board and the urban advisory committee will submit their letters to the county at a planning board meeting later this month. Construction on the civic center is scheduled to begin this spring.
Image courtesy of Machado-Silvetti.
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“Subtract from the memorial’s significance”? This isn’t a memorial with a square attached, it’s a square with a memorial in it. The people come first, and I’d rather see them enjoying this space then being told “not to disrespect the veterans.” Why’d we even name this Veterans’ Plaza to begin with? I feel like the community has not gotten their say in this project at all.
FYI, Just found this info:
The Silver Spring Urban District Advisory Committee meets the third Thursday of each month at Discovery Communications, One Discovery Place. You can contact the Silver Spring Regional Center Office for further information (301)565-7300.
These advisory board meetings are OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
As much as natural, living turf might be aesthetically pleasing, it would not stay that way long after the “plaza” opened.
The “problem” is that the public got used to the open space and pleasant experience of artificial turf. Their experience would have been very different if the county had installed real grass instead. We would have heard countless complaints of the mud and large unsighly bare spots…all innappropriate for a town square.
If anyone can invent and market a living turf that can withstand the onslaught of thousands of pedestrians and bicycles in a concentrated area, then he/she would truly become a billionaire in a short time. Landscape architects, architects & planners have been dreaming of this product throughout history–it simply doesn’t exist.
And how many citizens are willing to pay for and wait for the re-establishment of new turf as the area would have to be rehabilitated twice yearly?
Thanks to Anonymous for mentioning the urban advisory committee’s monthly meetings.
It would be great for residents to weigh in on discussions at the Silver Spring Urban District Advisory Committee, if they could find the time be there on Thursday afternoons.
Woodsider,
I sold the turf to Montgomery County. It is actually a putting surface, not filled to the top with sand. If we would have kept on infilling it, Silver Spring would have the world’s largest putting green.
The problem with the turf is that it is cheap and it hasn’t been properly cared for by the county. They had a $98,000 budget and we met it with the materials available to us.
For twice that money, they could have a good, nearly NFL Field quality turf that would have a much higher pile height and would withstand much more abuse.
We understand why they did what they did – they were in a pinch and needed to get that area covered. We also understand that it was meant to be very temporary – it was to be torn out long ago, but delays in the design of the new plaza have lengthened its life.
We’d love to come up and put in a nicer, longer lasting turf. I wish the local politicians would listen to the people and allow them to have what they really want – a nice open space that can be used for whatever they choose.
A letter to (I think) the Washington Post’s blog on one of the stories summed it up best. The writer aptly pointed out that for what they paid for the original turf, they could replace it every year for 220 years for the cost of the new “plaza.”
Good luck with that space. It will always be special to me and our company.