The Silver Spring Penguin

The county’s commuter-services group would like to offer more Flex and Zip cars to downtown Silver Spring residents. However, things aren’t always that easy.

Nothing in the law requires apartment complexes to offer the car-share programs, commuter services administrator Sandee Brecher explained at Silver Spring’s transportation committee Monday night.

“Our residential agreements are voluntary,” Brecher said.

Furthermore, the county has no mechanism for negotiating the lease of parking spaces at public garages, she said. Last month, members of the transportation committee requested car shares at the Kennett Street garage in South Silver Spring.

It’s a close case, Brecher said Monday night. Her office, which is a part of the county’s department of public works, is brainstorming ways for car-share companies like Zipcar and Flexcar to pitch for parking spaces.

However, if the companies throw low-ball offers, managers with the area’s parking district may not be too happy. The parking district, which is also under the department of public works, might want annual lease rates to match the fees collected from a metered or hourly-rate parking spot, Brecher suggested.

The commuter services section could have more luck with scoring spaces in private developments, Brecher said. There has already been some success with it, especially when the development entails mixed use, she said.

Within Silver Spring’s central business district, Zipcar has spots at the Summit Hills and Lenox Park apartment complexes; Flexcar has rides at The Blairs. Both companies also lease spaces from WMATA at the Silver Spring Metro station.

Brecher’s office is also crafting language to be dropped into developers’ traffic mitigation agreements that would require parking for car shares. Things could really get moving with the county’s new growth policy, Brecher said.