Comments on Silver Spring, Singular: One More Sign

Skateboarding and roller-blading are cool to watch...

2010-08-04T09:59:54.078-05:00

Skateboarding and roller-blading are cool to watch, but many ordinary pedestrians who aren't adult athletes find being around boarders and bladers to be an uncomfortable and intimidating experience. This would include many older visitors, the disabled, and parents with young children. Getting smacked into by a blader is fine if you're a fit 30-year-old guy, but may be a real problem if you're a 70-year old grandma with a bad hip, or a 5-year-old little kid. Surgery and physcial therapy can be very expensive.

I'm sure the most recent poster will enjoy living ...

2010-08-02T15:46:08.599-05:00

I'm sure the most recent poster will enjoy living in a small, white village in the middle of rural South Carolina.

Downtown Silver Spring is a huge failure! My famil...

2010-08-02T12:21:54.275-05:00

Downtown Silver Spring is a huge failure! My family and I usually go up to the Rockville Town Center or we trek all the way over to the new National Harbor.

Sad part is we only live 5 minutes away from the DTSS area right off Colesville but find the area completely disgusting and full of thugs.

Bethany and all - smoking is NOT allowed on the Ve...

2010-07-31T09:30:48.633-05:00

Bethany and all - smoking is NOT allowed on the Veterans Plaza. They announce it at concerts and events there, but other than that, I, like you, have not seen it enforced. I'd like to see the standing-chatting cops at least inform folks of this rule.

I kind of liked watching the skateboarders but kne...

2010-07-29T06:49:18.657-05:00

I kind of liked watching the skateboarders but knew it wouldn't - and shouldn't - last. It really is too damaging and dangerous for such a multi-use area. I am glad there is a skate park. Skateboarding is a pretty cool activity and has been so vilified that it really does need its own space.

The letter was a bit obsequious (it is possible to be a bit obsequious?) but I respected what they were trying to do/say: most skateboarders are teens and while we grown-ups may be able to get the subtlety, most teens and especially those who have already received a lot of crap for their favored activity are going to get defensive. Spelling things out very carefully to make sure folks realize their needs are also being respected is OK in my book. Anyone who thinks they could have just come out and said it without all the tiptoeing has never worked with teens -or just doesn't care how they feel.

The sense of entitlement by many people posting he...

2010-07-28T06:14:46.729-05:00

The sense of entitlement by many people posting here is absurd. It's not a skate park, as in, not meant for skating. As in, don't skate there. Why is there even a debate about this?

Should skaters have somewhere to go? I think so, and others have said they just built one nearby. But for posters here to be outraged that the County (which I think is usually ridiculous) wants to protect its million dollar civic center from being destroyed by skateboarding kids is absurd. It's not a skate park because it wasn't built as one. Get over it. For the same reasons, I will not be playing baseball or basketball there this Saturday. I'll go to a field or a court. Are you all really that ridiculously dense that you don't get this concept?

Jon

All of this makes me miss the turf, which allowed ...

2010-07-27T20:13:40.233-05:00

All of this makes me miss the turf, which allowed for many different activities--lounging, kicking around a soccer ball, throwing a football, toddlers running about. Now with the plaza you can...sit down.

And the County's letter was the most saccharine piece of writing I've read in a long time. It tries so hard to make sure that no one will take offense that it loses all dignity. Just come right out and say that skate boarding needs to stop because it's damaging public property. That's a perfectly good reason.

So skateboarding, rollerblading, and scooters are ...

2010-07-27T18:13:15.980-05:00

So skateboarding, rollerblading, and scooters are out. Maybe now we'll get groups out there on pogo sticks, BMX bikes, and big wheels since those aren't explicitly disallowed.

Or "No skateboards, rollerblades, or scooters"

2010-07-27T16:45:40.432-05:00

Or "No skateboards, rollerblades, or scooters"

If you are going pick apart the grammar you should...

2010-07-27T16:35:08.347-05:00

If you are going pick apart the grammar you should also take note of "No skateboarding, rollerblading or scooters." It should read "No skateboarding, rollerblading or scootering" or "No skateboarding, rollerblading or scooting" or "No skateboarding or rollerblading, and no scooters."

The benches for the homeless to sleep are provided...

2010-07-27T15:46:05.758-05:00

The benches for the homeless to sleep are provided, but has a place been designated for them to use to relieve themselves when they wake up? Another sign is needed.

If they're in favor of healthful activities that d...

2010-07-27T13:39:44.283-05:00

If they're in favor of healthful activities that don't affect others, why is smoking allowed? I expected it to be considered a public park space and not have smoking allowed but I've twice had to get up and leave my just started picnic because someone started smoking a cigarette or cigar on the next bench. I realize I'm slightly more sensitive than most people (horribly asthmatic) but for a place that welcomes kids it seemed a bit surprising to me.

Yes, but that Vet got blow'd up so the name is ava...

2010-07-27T13:21:21.755-05:00

Yes, but that Vet got blow'd up so the name is available. And I hate the Eagles, too, so there's the irony factor, I guess.

According to the Veterans Administration (no apost...

2010-07-27T13:08:28.793-05:00

According to the Veterans Administration (no apostrophe), Veterans Day doesn't have the apostrophe "because it is not a day that 'belongs' to veterans, it is a day for honoring all veterans," so I guess that's appropriate here. Whatever.

In any case, it's currently wrong, though not as egregious as Cresent Trail or (WTF?) Montogomery College.

Does anyone proofread these things? Or do they just figure it costs too much to fix? Baltimore calls itself "The City That Reads." Guess we don't.

I'd be happy if the White House would just it right on their website.
"Vice President Joe Biden sits with the audience ... in Silver Springs, MD..." --
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2009/09?page=1 (under "Traveling with the VP")

The Vet has too many bad Philadelphia Eagles conno...

2010-07-27T12:57:26.281-05:00

The Vet has too many bad Philadelphia Eagles connotations. I still think The Box can refer to the building itself as well as the area around it.

Not original, but I am hereby dubbing it "The Vet"...

2010-07-27T12:55:18.049-05:00

Not original, but I am hereby dubbing it "The Vet".

I can't believe Veterans Plaza has been open for a...

2010-07-27T12:48:06.171-05:00

I can't believe Veterans Plaza has been open for all this time and we have yet to come up with a cutesy, hip, annoying, only-the-locals-call-it-that-name like The Plaz, VPZ, Chez Vetz, or something. Also.

I wouldn't be surprised if cops won't mind if ther...

2010-07-27T12:39:48.750-05:00

I wouldn't be surprised if cops won't mind if there's a couple homeless people in the plaza. i think the county (rightly) just doesn't want it to become too slummy and will kick people out if the number of homeless using the area gets out of hand.

Why not make Veteranz Plaza (there, I resolved the...

2010-07-27T12:33:08.209-05:00

Why not make Veteranz Plaza (there, I resolved the grammar question) available to people to sleep in overnight? I.e., why not let homeless people sleep there, so long as they are not bothering anyone?

I'm not crazy about the idea, but on the other hand, homeless people need to sleep somewhere, just like the rest of us, and if the shelters are too crowded or dangerous or whatnot, then people without homes are left to sleep in the streets. So, why not open Veterans Plaza to them? Besides --and I mean this non-sarcastically -- plenty of homeless are veterans who have fallen on tough times.

I'll have to read this post later. I'm usually sl...

2010-07-27T11:44:10.863-05:00

I'll have to read this post later. I'm usually sleeping at Veteran's Plaza between 6:01 a.m. and 11:59 p.m.

I'll be the grammar cop -- the sign should read Ve...

2010-07-27T11:26:25.203-05:00

I'll be the grammar cop -- the sign should read Veterans Plaza, no apostrophe.

Oh the horror! Skateboarders might have to find an...

2010-07-27T11:15:29.023-05:00

Oh the horror! Skateboarders might have to find another place or another activity that interests them!

While I agree that there needs to be a dedicated skate park somewhere close in, it's ridiculous the amount of babying and handholding there is over this issue. Skateboarders make up a VERY VERY small fraction of the overall number of users of the plaza (less than 1/4 of 1 percent?). Yes, kids need activities but if you don't have a skatepark then go somewhere you are ALLOWED to skate or find something else that interests you. Just because you are a skateboarder does not give you the right to skate anywhere you want. We don't play basketball in the middle of the plaza do we?

There are endless sports and activities that the county provides facilities for...MoCo has some of the best in the country! To say that the entire Veterans Plaza set of rules has to cater to this activity is absurd. This reminds me of kids who only eat chicken fingers because their parents only gave them what didn't make them cry.