Like Karaoke, With Civics
Ike Leggett wants to feel your pain. Or at least hear about it.
At Tuesday's open-mic night in Chevy Chase, the county exec-elect listened to gripes ranging from undocumented aliens to traffic to education. For Silver Spring residents attending the town-hall meeting, the big issues were the Purple Line, pedestrian safety and rent control.
"When they talk about affordable housing, I hope that includes rentals," said one Silver Springer who did not give her name. According to the woman, rents had increased by at least 10% despite the county's recommended increase of 4%.
"We pay taxes. We feel betrayal," she added.
MoCo has no rent-control regulations, though the housing department does issue annual voluntary guidelines for rent increases. The recommended increase for 2006 was 4.4%. Actual increases averaged 4.9% in Silver Spring and Takoma Park, according to a county report.
Leggett acknowledged the loss of affordable rentals, which he attributed to condo conversions. "You increase [availability] by maintaining what you already have," he said.
Pedestrian safety was an issue, particularly for those living around the Forest Glen Metro station. A pedestrian bridge over Beltway access ramps opened earlier this year, linking the Forest Glen Metro station with the Montgomery Hills business district along Georgia Avenue. A pedestrian tunnel beneath Georgia Avenue also is in the works.
Walking can be hazardous even along Ellsworth Drive, said Silver Spring mom Sandra Markhardt. She worried that any accident along that privately owned road might create a negative image for all of downtown Silver Spring.
The biggest item--for residents of Silver Spring and beyond--was the Purple Line. Denise Cohen, a Silver Springer who "lives above the CSX [railroad] tracks," voiced her support for development of the light-rail line.
Nancy Nickell disagreed. "In East Silver Spring, homes are threatened by the Purple Line," she told Leggett. Instead, Nickell recommended improvements in Ride-On bus service and taxi service.
Leggett reminded the audience that the Purple Line is in the county's master plan. However, he offered to "exhaust every means necessary" to build it as a subterranean line. Leggett also warned that the line was not a panacea for the area's traffic problems.
"If you believe that the Purple Line standing by itself will do this, then we're not fully addressing the problem," he said. "We can't build our way out of this."
Thanks to MoCo's planning board for the graphic and this dude for the penguin pic.
