SILVER SPRING – Montgomery County planners, who begin a community planning effort in the west Silver Spring community of Lyttonsville in the coming months, will host an open house Wednesday to learn more about what residents and business owners view to be the area’s strengths and what they would like to see changed.
Lyttonsville, a community of close-knit, well-maintained residential neighborhoods as well as a commercial/industrial area along Brookville Road, is planned to be a station along the proposed Purple Line.
Open house participants will record their favorite aspects of Lyttonsville on graphic displays. Oversized maps will allow attendees to mark their typical travel patterns and rate examples of buildings of different densities. Planners aim to create a visual record upon which they can build as they prepare to undertake the Lyttonsville Sector Plan.
Once a predominantly African American community settled by a freed slave in the 1800s, Lyttonsville is now home to a diverse population, including young families living side by side with long-time denizens. The Brookville Road industrial area is intensely developed, with more than 1.4 million square feet of space in 50 buildings.
Planners are reaching out to the community following a mid-March announcement by the Maryland Transit Authority to move the location of a proposed Purple Line rail yard farther from residential areas and closer to the industrial section. The announcement was well received, and planners want to build on the energy and enthusiasm.
The 16-mile Purple Line will connect Bethesda with New Carrollton in Prince George’s County. One of the proposed 21 stations is in Lyttonsville. Learn more about the upcoming sector plan.
WHO:
Montgomery County Planning Department
WHAT:
Lyttonsville Open House
WHEN/WHERE:
6-9 p.m. Wednesday, March 28 (drop in anytime)
Coffield Community Center
2450 Lyttonsville Road, Silver Spring