ThayerAvenue.com

The Washington Post had an article yesterday about the new Silver Spring Transit Center, including a nice rendering I hadn’t seen before. And in light of the idiot pedestrians we have in our community, I found this comment from Bruce Johnston interesting:

“There are a number of traffic improvements which will help reduce the number of pedestrian conflicts with traffic and minimize congestion.”

Pedestrian conflicts. Is that what they’re calling it now? When I think of pedestrian conflicts, I think of me getting out of my car and punching someone in the face that decided to walk out in front of me. And that might even be after I hit them with the pimp sled. Silver Spring, Singular regularly rants about this, and I have to say he’s absolutely right. What is it going to take to tackle this pervasive problem? I have yet to see a cop give a jaywalking ticket. Three or four times a week I have to make split-second decision as to whether or not I’m going to teach someone a lesson by hitting the gas instead of the brake.

Would a public service campaign actually do any good? Louisiana has implemented one (that also addresses other issues) with the theme of “Wreck less, Louisiana.” How creative. New York’s infamous “Cars hurt. Stay Alert.” campaign didn’t look like it helped much last time I was up there, but I sure love the curb painting concept. And I could think of a few things to stencil in. But I still wonder how many people would pay attention. Any ideas?

The new phone books are in! The new phone books are in! Our thriving little suburb has become part of all the news that’s fit to print. From the New York Times: “A Dose of Art and Entertainment Revives a Suburb”

I got this from a couple of listserves and a few friends all about the same time, with some interesting references. One email boasted, “Silver Spring Historical Society Gets Mention in New York Times!” Wonder who that could be. Some interesting tidbits from the article I personally enjoyed:

1. “Silver Spring still has its somewhat shabby side, which includes auto body shops, greasy spoons, a tattoo parlor and used book and record stores, but they are now considered part of its charm.”
Charm. Yes. Thank you, Big City Newspaper.

2. “I can’t think of any downside to this project,” said Bryant F. Foulger, a principal of Foulger-Pratt.
Well, DUH. Of course he can’t think of any downside. For those of you not from the area, this should clear things up.

3. “The Birchmere, a music hall in Alexandria, Va., is planning to open a second location in a former J. C. Penney store across from the film institute in 2010.”
PLEASE let them be right on this one. Note the key phrase “planning to.” Don’t make me start cracking skulls at council meetings. Because I will.

4. “The former Hecht’s was converted into City Place Mall before the current renaissance and has languished with mostly discount stores. That is changing, slowly.”
Changing slowly? Into what? Still Shitty Place. Still languishing.

5. “Serving 50,000 daily passengers, the transit center is scheduled for 2009 completion.”
Heh. After reading that savvy Silver Spring Penguin the other day, it’ll be interesting to see how close that is. And what the final product will look like.

6. “Nearby, Foulger-Pratt is awaiting final approval on a 200-room hotel, two residential towers with 410 units, and about 20,000 square feet of retail space.”
See item #2 above.

7. “I see Silver Spring as a little like the East Village” in Manhattan, [Jackie Greenbaum] said. “I think there’s a very good chance it will stay interesting and a little edgy. At least that’s my hope.”
You know what would help matters? Bringing NPR to Silver Spring.

Yay for us!

Hello, all. Sorry for the most recent posting delay, but I think I’m back in the groove. We finally have a break from the slew of family that came in after Baby Girl was born, so there’s a lot to catch up on. First, to some lingering news from last year…

I’ve come into possession of some photos of what appears to be a budding poultry farm here on Thayer Avenue. Granted, they haven’t been around in a while, but I’d love to know any back story as to why these tasty-looking guys were poking around. If they come back anytime soon, we’ll make them the guests of honor at a backyard BBQ. And that’s not just because they’re tasty. If they make any noise before 6:00 am, I’ll bust out some small projectiles.