Photography should be permitted in Downtown Silver Spring, according to most Penguin poll participants.

Ninety-two percent of voters (71 out of 77) say the private company leasing Ellsworth Drive from the county should allow shutterbugs to snap away.

“Photos could be used to shed negative light on the area, but they would more likely be used to shed positive light on it,” says Silver Springer (no relation to the author of Silver Spring Scene). “It seems stupid that the development company would care.”

“When the county renews the lease, they need to put in an explicit clause forbidding the leaseholder from forbidding photography,” suggests David Zakar, another reader.

The remaining 8 percent of poll participants (6 out of 77) say the company should not be required to permit photography.

“Get over it, because this is what you guys signed up for when Silver Spring welcomed Folger Pratt/Peterson Co. into town,” remarks someone identified only as a Silver Spring resident.

“They are the big developer that revitalized Silver Spring, and they are the big developer that can now legally manage the property. This issue is the equivalent of beating a dead horse,” the Silver Spring resident adds.

The poll was prompted when area resident Chip Py was asked to stop photographing subjects in the Downtown Silver Spring shopping area.

As it turns out, the county leases Ellsworth Drive and the entire shopping district to a private company, which deemed photography a no-no at the time.

The company has since reversed its policy, according to the Baltimore Sun. The policy change occurred halfway during the week-long Penguin poll.

The poll asked readers if the private company leasing Ellsworth Drive should permit photography in the shopping area. Participants chose between two responses (yes or no) and were allowed to leave comments on a separate Penguin post.

The polling software allowed only one vote per computer.