The Bridge to Somewhere
As another example of how these people don’t really represent the people they attempt to serve, last night my beloved East Silver Spring Civic Association voted to support the pedestrian bridge for the library (after the Citizens’ Advisory Board and the County Council both voted against it). ESSCA has done a lot of stupid shit over the years, and while this is far from the worst of that, it’s the most annoying right now. I had to walk out right after the vote to attend to some personal matters (and because people wouldn’t shut up and take the damn vote), but I’d put it at about a 2-1 margin. Ben Kenobi said it best: “The Force can have a strong influence on the weak minded.”
For the uninitiated: This is an $800,000 bridge that would serve a small percentage of the library-going population from the Wayne Avenue garage, over Wayne Avenue, to the 3rd floor of the library building itself. The second floor of the library is supposed to have a disability resource center, which I suppose some think would be hypocritical without the bridge. Then there’s the Purple Line, which would come through the south side of the library on the first floor. All these variables do NOT necessitate a walkway that costs over three quarters of a million dollars.
Before you call me anti-people-with-disabilities, hear me out. I am a web designer and developer, and I spend a lot of time making sure my sites – many of which are for the federal government – are accessible by people with disabilities. The crux of that task is this: Any content that is available to the general public should be available to persons with disabilities. If that means the content is accessible through a screen reader, fine. If there needs to be a text equivalent of the content on another page, great. I can do that.
Here’s the catch: The library would be available to ALL – even in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act – without the pedestrian bridge. People would just have to cross Wayne avenue and take an elevator. Oh, and that’s assuming they could even find a parking space in the Wayne Avenue garage once the library is open. I dare you to defend that one when levels 5 and 6 have the only few available places on the weekends as it is now. People going to other places in the downtown area will fill that up fast enough.
I say (as many others do) take the money and put it into improvements into the intersection of Fenton and Wayne. And you can hear the people start to whine: (1) “It’s not safe to take kids across that intersection! It’s already too dangerous!” (2) “You have to take an elevator down and then go across and then go back up for the library!” (3) “Some of our patrons really need this access!” (4) “Parking in the neighborhood will get so bad!”
My answer? STFU.
(1) I take my 3-year-old daughter across that intersection all the time. Just don’t be an idiot about crossing the street. Use the money to make improvements to the intersection and we’ll be fine; (2) Elevators are made for disabled access; (3) Is there content (books) that isn’t available to persons with disabilities by other means? (see #2) Umm, no.; (4) I live three blocks away from the new library site. Bring it on.
Photo courtesy of Lukmire and Associates
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How do the ESSCA members who walk downtown do it now? Wind back through the neighborhood and cross at Cedar to avoid the scawwwwy intersection of Wayne and Fenton? This would be one thing if they were talking about the Colesville corners with either Wayne or Georgia, but Wayne and Fenton? Please.
And wouldn’t putting the money toward improving the intersection also benefit disabled patrons (and others) who travel to the library by bus or Metro? Improved timing of the lights and better turn lanes and sidewalks/crosswalks at Wayne and Fenton (and Wayne and Georgia, for that matter) would benefit *everyone* who lives, works, and plays in DTSS.
It’s possible to make an intersection safe for pedestrians, but it needs to be studied carefully and integrated into the overall streetscape–which, of course, costs money.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my car as much as the next person, but the Smart Growth answer would be to make it easier to navigate the area by public transit and on foot, rather than spending a large amount of money to benefit a smaller number of patrons. Worthy as assisting persons with disabilities and those with small children might be, the money could be better spent in a way that benefits *everyone*.
And I’m not sure why so many businesses in the Fenton Village area are sporting “Build the Bridge” signs. Do they think that people are going to use the library as a cut-through to get to their establishments? They’d be better served, again, by making it less of a hassle for *everyone* to get from the downtown area to Fenton Village–not just people who park on two or three floors of the Wayne Avenue garage.
I wholeheartedly agree. This is a matter of convenience, not accessibility. At a time when the county is suffering financially, do we really need them spending nearly a million dollars on something that will reduce pedestrian traffic and save people only a couple of minutes?
Without the bridge, a machine transports you down to the ground, you cross a medium-traffic side street, and another machine carries you up toward the sky. That sounds pretty damn accessible to me.
While I appreciate your points, I don’t think $800K is that bad given the total cost of the project. There are plenty of county expenses in that price range that are far less deserving. In my mind, what you get for that price, that you don’t get with intersection improvements are:
(1) Inclement weather protection- Standing on a corner with 2 kids in pouring rain and maybe a stroller, waiting for the light, what parent wouldn’t prefer a covered walkway direct from garage to Library?
(2) Reckless/distracted driving protection- No matter how pedestrian friendly you improve that intersection, it will never protect against, say, the 50% of teens who say they text while driving.
Lastly, your statement “$800,000 bridge that would serve a small percentage of the library-going population” needs to be supported by a statistic- why “small percentage”? Drivers comprise the majority of Ellsworth patrons. While this may not be the correct barometer for the new location, what is the actual expected percentage of bridge users and is it really “small”?
Not saying this justifies it for me, just something to consider.
Woodside: Good points to consider. Raw numbers would be nice to have, but we can extrapolate a little. I’m making the assumption that the people who use the walkway will primarily be the ones parking in the Wayne Avenue garage. While it’s certainly possible for people to park elsewhere and go up through the garage just to use the walkway, I don’t feel like that would be a common occurrence. Actual pedestrian traffic patterns might be difficult to predict.
The people from the library admitted that the capacity of the garage is a big variable in the equation. There are usually a fair amount of spaces on the top two floors, but on the weekends (when we can expect the most library traffic) those spots may be hard to come by. We still have the Ellsworth garage and the garages and lots down Fenton, plus metro garages if people get desperate.
I also think that people who come to DTSS will not necessarily be making the trek exclusively for the library. Who knows what their actual start and end points will be.
As for the inclement weather and reckless driving, those are certainly good things to consider. The latter of those could be mitigated, however slightly, by intersection improvements. The former by an umbrella. Though having pushed strollers around downtown, it does get cumbersome on both counts.
Ummm… what the hell is ESSCA doing here anyway? What authority do they have? Hasn’t this already been decided by the County? Not to mention (echoing earlier sentiments) there is NO money for it.
I agree with you this seems like another way to build something just so we can spent more money. I like how you mentioned accessible web site design analogy. Plus people shoudl just take stairs and have some workout #takestairs
For parents who are afraid to cross the intersection 1) Stop crossing on red light 2) Teach your kids how to cross, I mean come on!
I think we are all very familiar with the fact that constriction projects for government NEVER fit the originally estimated budget. 800k is just an estimate hat will change. I mean prices of workforce, equipment, resources, supplies and delays will blow this budget several times.
Remember that the bridge goes directly into the library; it’s not intended to be an alternate method for pedestrians crossing Wayne Avenue.
I might be more likely to consider supporting an alternate crossing, but this is a direct garage-library link with no other access points. Convenient for those who drive for the sole purpose of visiting the library, but not much use for anyone who wants to, say, visit the library and then head across to Whole Foods to pick up groceries afterward.
It’s really a question of Smart Growth vs. Convenient for ME. I’ll admit it–although I only live a few blocks away, if they DO build the bridge I’m likely to get lazy and drive to the garage on a cold, rainy day with my three-year-old. But, although it might turn out to be convenient for me personally, the bridge really isn’t what’s best for the community as a whole.
As for the numbers, the local merchants certainly *hope* that those who drive to the library and don’t visit any other establishments in the area will turn out to be in the minority! I’m just afraid that the bridge will foster an insular feeling for the library, without connecting it to the larger community around it.
If MoCo is going to build a bridge anywhere in Silver Spring, PLEASE build it from somewhere on East West Hwy over to Georgia Ave. near the Fire Station so what should be a 4 minute walk doesn’t take 10-12 min as it currently does now having to go all the way around the railroad tracks.
As for the Library I don’t understand the problem. Walk there or park your car and walk across the street. Why do you need a bridge? You’re not crossing a moat. Make the intersection safer, sure, but don’t spend a ton of money on a bridge we don’t need.
I’m with Art. Why do we care what ESSCA votes? I thot it was decided last year not to build it…
I’m with JG and have made the same please many times on the SS blogs. Thousands of people who live in the highrises along EW HWY don’t spend their money in DTSS or Fenton Village because it’s not convenient to walk there (or they perceive it to be unsafe to walk under the metro tracks via GA ave). I wouldn’t be surprised if we did see some county movement on this once the Ripley St. projects start coming out of the ground. Then the politicians will start screaming how much it’s needed (and maybe get one crossing built in 10 years).
Must be nice to be cognitive of the thoughts of thousands of people, woodsider. I think that argument is a bit ridiculous. There is nothing wrong with that short jaunt to DTSS. An 800K skywalk to save a few folks 3-4 minutes of walking. Really?
+1 for this JG library comment, however: “Walk there or park your car and walk across the street. Why do you need a bridge? You’re not crossing a moat. Make the intersection safer, sure, but don’t spend a ton of money on a bridge we don’t need.”
Now can we talk about more stupid shit ESSCA has done?
Since the County Council voted down the bridge a few months ago, why would ESSCA vote to support the bridge now? This would be like me calling on my member of Congress this week to ask her to vote against health care reform, or NAFTA. Have circumstances changed such that the Council should re-consider the issue?
Any news on the ESSCA elections that took place at the meeting?
“There is nothing wrong with that short jaunt to DTSS.”
No there isn’t, any able bodied person can do it. But I’ve timed the walk to Pacci’s from East West Hwy and it’s about a 10-12 minute walk, where walking straight over the tracks would take maybe 4. And it’s not saving a few people some time, we’re not talking one crumbling apt building on East West, but all of the new condo/apt. buildings built there talking hundreds of potential customers.
So can the walk be made? Sure. But this is like being on U street and instead of simply walking down U from Saloon to Marvin you have to walk up 12th to V then down 14th. Stupid right? Right. Just walk straight there, same situation with railroad tracks in DTSS. Build a bridge and I’d basically guarantee a pretty healthy increase in business for Jackies, Pacci’s, FS1, etc…So if we’re going to spend any of our ridiculously high MoCo tax dollars on anything in Silver Spring, how about a bridge to help the revitalization of GA Ave?
Brains: I assume the slate of unopposed candidates flew back into office. I had to leave before the vote took place. I do know that people were planning on voting down Bob Colvin just out of principle, even though it would have little effect on the overall result.
I can’t believe everyone talks about pedestrian friendly improvements to an intersection with a project that’s yet to be built but every time you cross Colesville at Georgia or Georgia at Colesville you’re taking your life into your hands. Why didn’t they just build a garage into the library? Seems every other new project is required to add substantive parking. Yes it should be a “walk to” attraction, but the size and scale of the project, looking at all the drawings, suggests a massive facility that draws users from across the down-county area. No doubt many of them will drive.
Besides the financial impact – which as noted is absurd to spend that money considering the budget crisis which isn’t about to go away – it also violates the original master plan for downtown silver spring. The plan for the CBD does not allow these things intentionally – the idea being to put pedestrian traffic on the sidewalks to create a urban environment.
Does the library have a sense of how many people walk vs. drive now, and how they expect that to change? I walk there…and given the size of the current library parking lot, I suspect most other patrons do too. So I share your amazement at the idea of spending $800K on this. And the opinion expressed by someone above that ESSCA (and, BTW, the library STAFF) are just being irrelevant, because this has already been decided. Or are they somehow more powerful than I realize…
JG: thanks for the perfect reply to Pablo’s post. Couldn’t have said it better myself. The pedestrian trafic on the needed bridge(s) over the tracks wouldn’t only go one way—in the next few years there will be 1500 – 2000 multi family units built in the Ripley District and in Fenton Village. Those residents would be able to walk to the Giant, etc. on EW Hwy and maybe even support some of the retail on the 1st floor of the buildings on EW Hwy. Bottom line–the more that people can EASILY walk to what they need w/in their own neighborhood, the greater the likelihood that they will get in their cars, add to traffic/pollution and spend their money outside of Silver Spring. The more money spent in Silver Spring, the more development and better retail/services we will get. No brainer if you ask me.
I mean NOT get in their cars.
Agree, a good argument was needed here (as opposed to what was originally posted). I’m sure in the next few years whan all these multi-family units begin construction you guys will be all over getting a bridge built…
Oh yea, and don’t forget to build it with moving sidewalks so fat, lazy, unwashed socialists can schlep their food stamps, six kids and sense of Silver Spring entitlement over to the Giant then to the CVS to pick up their tax payer provided prescriptions…and not have to break a sweat.
Why won’t the county come to their senses and build a pedestrian bridge on Thayer Avenue across Grove Street. Having to look both ways for oncoming traffic before I cross Grove street is killing me! I’m bringing this up at the next ESSCA meeting.
Let’s take a deep breath: anything below a 5% threshold or so is usually not worth worrying about. That’s a good rule for many public debates. The cost of the bridge is c. 2% of construction cost. So . . . grow up!
2% of the library construction cost? Where do you get your numbers for “good rules?” Are these industry standards? For what kind of usage? Just like many people here, I think you’re guilty of generalizing things a bit too much. Provide some real backing for your threshold in conjunction with corresponding usage statistics and I’ll think about listening.
Oh, and by the way… this blog has a pretty varied readership. See any trends here in the comments? Perhaps some that indicate the ESSCA vote in no way represents the community at-large?
For those is SOUTh SS – wishing to easily come over to East SS:
there IS a bridge from 410 to Georgia by cutting thru NOAA and crossing to Marc station platform – right now it is a bit of a pain though due to transit construction and long-ramp around the site.
BUT there is another BETTER alternative crossing: it is OVER the urine-soaked underpass on Georgia – just climb the steps near Mayorga – go over – climb steps back down near new Fire Station – easy-peasy! This was built as a bike path overpass originally, but I use to avoid the dank, stank tunnel underpass. Explore a bit and check it out.
[...] Torn down, actually. Two auto repair shops, a hair salon, and the venerable Moose Lodge. All taken out within the span of a day to make way for the new library. I do feel a bit of nostalgia, but mostly I’m excited for a new library. Without the footbridge. [...]
To explain my 5% threshold a little further: it’s a rule of thumb that helps you stay sane. If the Tea Party is 18% of the electorate, you worry about it. If the County Library operating budget for 2011 is cut 24%, you worry about it. If something amounts to 2% of construction cost, you don’t worry about it. And so on.
Wow. I saw those little signs about “access for all” to the library with images of a bridge in some store windows and couldn’t figure out what they were talking about. Given the location of the new library, I thought it must be figurative since I couldn’t figure out where it’d need a bridge to. I didn’t know what the signs were about until I saw your post. I can’t think of anyone who’d be able to access the library with a bridge over Wayne Ave. into it who couldn’t absent the bridge.
Especially with the fiscal situation what it is I don’t see how a bridge from a parking garage to a library is best way for tax dollars to be spent. Progress Place’s Community Vision program is facing possible cuts of $225,000, which would end numerous daytime services for the homeless (they may be mostly restored, but last I heard it wasn’t decided). 19,000 people or so are on Maryland waiting lists for services for those with disabilities, forcing elderly parents to care for their adult children. Those are among the many higher priorities, in my book, than a bridge from a parking structure over a street that is only one lane in each direction.
The only people parking in garages are people old enough to drive, so there’d be an adult with any child who is crossing. This whole proposal is truly bizarre to me. Anyone hear of umbrellas? How do people get anywhere if they’re afraid of crossing a relatively small intersection, that is equipped with walk signs?
And, as you point out, everyone going anywhere else than to and from the garage only (and to no other shops, etc) would still have to cross the intersection anyway; as would those walking.
correction to my last comment: I think it may actually be two lanes of traffic each way. In any case, it does not seem to me to be a daunting or high speed intersection.
I do think it’d be a good idea to add disabled parking at the library site, though, which is being considered. A lot of disabled folks take Metro access, so there should definitely be a zone for a drop off for them as well.
Now I get it JKS. You see a statement like this, you worry about it:
“We see [health care reform as] a bill that says to someone, if you want to be creative and be a musician or whatever, you can leave your work, focus on your talent, your skill, your passion, your aspirations because you will have health care. You won’t have to be job-locked.”
—Nancy Pelosi, speaking to musicians and artists
in Washington, D.C., May 15, 2010
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