Alleys in the Works for South Silver Spring

Pedestrian paths that slice through south Silver Spring should be ready for use by next summer, The Gazette reports.

The paths are designed to break up large industrial blocks in that neighborhood (above), the weekly paper writes.

The 400-foot-long Arts Alley at Blair Mill Road, completed in 2005, already provides pedestrian access to Georgia Avenue from East-West Highway. It is the first of eight proposed walkways through south Silver Spring, The Gazette writes.

A walkway between Kennett Street and East-West Highway is under construction, and another pathway would link Kennett and Eastern Avenue, Pat Shepherd, project manager for the county's department of housing and community affairs, tells The Gazette.

"There are more pedestrians, and though it was once an industrial neighborhood, it is now an urban neighborhood," Shepherd says.

The county also plans to post signs that would direct pedestrians through the walkways. Some private developers have already posted some signs, The Gazette says.

Image courtesy of MoCo's department of housing and community affairs.

"County Moves Ahead With Walkways to Connect South Silver Spring" (The Gazette)
"South Silver Spring Pedestrian Linkages" (Montgomery County)