One thing was very very clear at the visioning session for downtown Silver Spring this week. People are pissed off that Ellsworth is now a parking lot instead of an awesome pedestrian street. And the planners did not want to talk about it. (A brief thread)

The picture I use here is from @justupthepike For more than a year he and I and a bunch of people have been asking, and sometimes DEMANDING that we get Ellsworth back to its original glorious state.

We talked to a lot of local businesses who told us they didn't want trouble with Peterson, the developer that ultimately decides what happens in this space which feels public and should be public but is somehow run by them

Those of us working on "open street" projects for the county heard over and over again how people were incredibly upset that while the rest of the world made streets more pedestrian friendly during the pandemic, Peterson made "our main street" a disasterous place where cars ruled

Peterson reps were less than helpful. When I asked them if they had seen the great streeteries in Bethesda, the woman I talked to from their company told me dryly: "I live in Bethesda."

When we complained again that it was really confusing and therefore unsafe because cars were driving without rules and parking long term there, Peterson sent workers out for a couple of weeks to at least enforce what was supposed to be curbside parking. Half-hearted at best.

Now we are winding down on the pandemic. The county is announcing that soon it will be able to really open things up. I keep wondering: what does that mean for Ellsworth.

I waited to attend an MNCPPC visioning session that would address Ellsworth. The session this week began with planners saying they would only talk about it at the end if there was time. But during the entire session people kept referring to the desire to have Ellsworth "back"

I do not blame planners for not wanting to address this mess. I do want to know what elected officials are not doing anything to address this community outcry/desire/demand.