Silver Spring Intermediate Neighborhood Park – Improvement Plan

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Division: Park Development Division

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Project Description

Silver Spring Intermediate Neighborhood Park is located at 7801 Chicago Avenue in Takoma Park, just south of downtown Silver Spring. The park is surrounded on three sides by single-family homes and on the fourth side by Montgomery College’s Takoma Park Campus.

The goal of this project is to enhance the access to the park and connections between park amenities, improve the existing amenities and play fields, and address ongoing drainage issues.

Background

The 3.6-acre Silver Spring Intermediate Neighborhood Park is the former site of the Silver Spring Intermediate School.  Following the demolition of the school buildings in the 1970s and 1980s, amenities such as the parking lot, basketball court, tennis court, ball fields and playground were gradually installed in the park in the 1980s and upgraded in the 2000s.

Vehicular access to the existing parking lot occurs from Chicago Avenue. The 21-space parking lot was built for the school’s gymnasium, which remained in operation for several years after the remainder of the school was demolished. The gym was demolished and turned into a rectangular youth field in the 1980s.

Evidence of the school’s footprint can still be seen within the site grading and several retaining walls. There are also many mature trees that remain from the site’s previous use as a school. The steep slope along Philadelphia Avenue (MD 410) is covered in dense, invasive vegetation that significantly limits visibility into the park and constricts the already narrow sidewalk along the western edge of the park.

There are four entrances into the park but only two provide accessible routes to amenities. Within the park, steep slopes and series of steps complicate wheelchair and stroller access to several of the park’s amenities. The path leading to the tennis court is often inundated with water. The playground is isolated from the rest of the park.

Parks Staff performed basic interim improvements to the site in 2017. The interim improvements include newly painted basketball court with a new fence, additional dog waste stations, and removal of non-native invasive plants along MD 410. More improvements are expected in the next couple of years.

Status/Project Update

Planning Board approved the Park’s improvement plan and cost estimate for Silver Spring Intermediate Neighborhood Park on September 5, 2019.

• Construction started in December 2021. The project is estimated to be completed in Fall 2022. View the site rendering.
• Per the original plan, the playground will remain as it currently exists. Due to changes in playground safety standards, (which establish the minimum safe distances which must be provided clear of obstructions around play equipment), there is no possible way to provide a fence along the Boston Avenue sidewalk without violating the revised safety standards.
• Playground construction will be completed around July 1, 2022 and open for public use on the July 4th weekend, depending on weather.

Calendar and Meeting Notes

* Date and time subject to change. Please confirm the schedule with the Project Manager.

M-NCPPC Staff Contact

Wen Huang, Project Manager
Wen.Huang@MontgomeryParks.org
(301) 495-2466