Comments on: Brick sidewalks should get to steppin’, Floreen says

By: Glenn Kreger

Glenn Kreger — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 13:27:07 +0000

The streetscaping along Georgia Avenue and Colesville Road is primarily the old Type A standard which utilized concrete unipavers. New streetscape guidelines were adopted in 1992; they prescribed a new Type B streetscape standard that utilized Belden bricks in a different pattern. This is what you will see on most of the streets in Silver Spring. (Note: For a brief time, a substitute had to be used for the Belden brick after the manufacturer’s kiln blew up; it was similar but not identical.)

After hearing anecdotally about slipperiness on the Belden bricks, M-NCPPC staff asked the manufacturer a year ago to modify their process for wire cutting the bricks to address the concern. The new Belden bricks should have a slightly rougher texture and be less slippery.

Glenn Kreger
Acting Chief, Vision Division
M-NCPPC

By: tj

tj — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 23:20:32 +0000

While taking a walk today along Colesville and Fenton, I observed the brick pavers in the sidewalk. There is no uniformity in the brick pavers that is being used. They come in different shapes, sizes, colors and textures. Also, the brick pavers on the northeast corner of Colesville and EW Highway do seem to be particularly slick.

By: jen

jen — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 17:13:32 +0000

i agree with ihateyuppies, the financial liability of knowingly maintaining dangerous sidewalks has to be factored into the cost analysis.

i personally don’t care about statistics of how many people have gotten injured. i know that i, a relatively able-bodied person, don’t feel safe. i don’t want to be the person who gets injured to create the statistic, and i don’t wish that on someone else either. if the sidewalks are dangerous, we should fix them BEFORE someone gets hurt, not wait until a certain number of people get hurt. and sue the county.

By: IHateYuppies

IHateYuppies — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 15:43:11 +0000

See what I mean, Chaz. I had to walk on snow-covered grass and pavement so I wouldn’t fall on my ass on the brick sidewalks this morning.

By: chaz

chaz — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 14:52:11 +0000

I slipped a little this morning. Poetic justice? :)

By: Mortis Olaf

Mortis Olaf — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 01:50:23 +0000

Concrete is ugly, and it’s not going to magically make ice safe.

By: Jerry

Jerry — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 00:40:23 +0000

Al,

And you probably thought your comment was clever…

Editor’s note: Play nice. — JD (Mar 1, 2009)

By: Al

Al — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 21:26:54 +0000

maybe the county can save some money and tear down all those old brick buildings in silver spring and recycle the bricks in the sidewalks and cover all of downtown. put the falklands to a good second use!

By: IHateYuppies

IHateYuppies — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 17:50:29 +0000

I can tell you that the bricks along East-West Hwy and Colesville are very unsafe in wet and icy conditions. If you don’t have good skid resistant shoes, you will be slipping and sliding all over the sidewalk. Yes, the bricks are more aesthetically appealing from an urban design perspective; we should also consider the expenses of physical injury when someone slips and falls on the brick material.

btw…I have witnessed plenty of people taking spills in winter conditions on those brick sidewalks. Safety First.

By: Woodsider

Woodsider — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 15:46:33 +0000

Chaz: Thank you from me, too….show me the stats

Woodside Park Bob: They aren’t talking about ripping out all the old pavers, but requiring new development/renovations to adhere to the new rules. That’s why we’ll have not only a visually unattractive streetscape, but a bunch of short strips of “easier to walk-on” concrete.

Surely there are far more important issues for our elected officials to spend their time and our taxes on!