The Silver Spring Penguin

MoCo exec Ike Leggett (D) took office last year with a list of things to do. Fix the schools. Unclog the roadways. And take care of that nasty growth some people keep bitching about. On Monday afternoon, Leggett announced his mission was partly accomplished.

“By all reasonable indicators, we are making measured progress to enhance our future,” he said during his first state of the county address in Rockville. However, “the challenges we face are often the results of our own success.”

Schools are on the up and up, and the county enjoys one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation — all this action despite a $200 million budget gap inherited from the previous administration, Leggett said.

Filed under “work in progress”, Leggett hoped to wrap up final negotiations on Silver Spring’s future music venue by the end of the year. The county’s deal with concert promoter Live Nation would “encourage additional vitality and business to a part of Silver Spring still untouched by previous revitalization efforts,” he said.

Also still in the works is the county’s approach to affordable housing. Earlier this year, Leggett and the county council gave tenants associations the first shot at buying their apartments if condo conversion was imminent.
In the next few days, an executive task force drops its recommendations on how to increase the affordable-housing supply. The same task force has scheduled public meetings to get input from the community.

But one of the county’s biggest problems — traffic — hasn’t been tackled. Area residents face some of the longest commuting times in the country, Leggett said. More travel options — like a Purple Line between Bethesda and New Carrollton — would preserve the quality of life, as well as attract and keep businesses in the county, he argued.

“I continue to believe an increase in the state gas tax, which has not been increased since the early 1990s, must be on the agenda in Annapolis this session,” Leggett said. The extra revenue could be used to cover improvements in roadways and mass transit, he suggested.

Leggett also asked area residents and businesses to ditch at least two rush hour trips each week.

“We must change our culture and habits regarding our commutes to work and responsibility for traffic,” he said. “Each person, every business, educational institution, and other parts of our daily lives must assume responsibility to change how we do things in ways that will keep traffic off the roads, especially during rush hours.”

And as far as the county’s recently approved growth policy goes, Leggett had mixed feelings. “I remain concerned … that our traffic tests on paper do not fully reflect the realities all of us see day in and day out as we travel throughout the county,” he said.

Still, “I believe we have moved the ball closer to the goal of responsible and sustainable growth,” he added.