Reports: DC Residents Upset with Silver Spring Over Parking

Silver Spring's boom, growth, "upside potential" or, whatever you want to call the population's explosion, is ticking off some residents of Shepherd Park, a neighborhood in Northwest DC that borders Montgomery County, news outlets reported.

At a community meeting jointly hosted by Montgomery County Councilmember Valerie Ervin (D-Dist 5), who represents downtown Silver Spring, and District Councilmember Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4), who represents upper Northwest DC, District dwellers lamented a lack of parking on their streets and the lack of safety at the border line at 16th Street.

“They park on our streets,” District resident Doug Lawrence told WJLA, referring to downtown Silver Spring residents. 

“I can’t find a place to park,” said Gary Goins, who lives in Shepherd Park, adding that he notices a lot of Maryland tags on the offending cars. 

“It is just that ours has always been a quiet neighborhood up in the northwest corner, and now we have lots of folks who are not paying our taxes in D.C. using a lot of our services," Tim Shuy, president of the Shepherd Park Citizens Association, told the Post.

Councilmember Ervin noted the lack of parking in downtown Silver Spring and pointed to three big apartment developments in the future—The Blairs expansion, the Falkands and a Newell Street property—as markers that Silver Spring will become even more dense, the Gazette reports. 

Ervin said she wanted to address parking with the County Council this year, the newspaper said. 

“This is not resolved,” Ervin said. “This is a long way from being resolved.”

As for the traffic do-hickey on 16th Street that divides Montgomery County from the District (there was not a concession on whether it's a traffic circle, roundabout or jut-out, the Gazette reported), there are talks about making it safer, including additional traffic lights. 

What do you think: Does Silver Spring need more parking? Do you park in DC overnight? What should be done at the county line on 16th Street?