When it opened a few weeks ago, the new Silver Spring Civic Building and Veterans Plaza quickly became a mecca for dozens of skateboarders who flock downtown daily to perform tricks and flips for crowds of onlookers. But Montgomery County officials banned the boarders from the plaza July 26, saying that the area is showing undue wear-and-tear from the grinding and scraping of skateboards.
"Skateboarding is a tremendously healthy activity," said Reemberto Rodriguez, director of the Silver Spring Regional Services Center. "At the same time, there is unintentional -- underscore unintentional -- real damage being done to the railings and the wooden benches and some of the concrete steps."
The county-owned building and plaza, touted as "Silver Spring's living room," is designed to host community meetings and activities, such as the Silver Spring jazz festival, weekly concerts and art showcases. The plaza and rooms also are available for rental to private parties, such as for weddings and bar or bat mitzvahs. Luckily for the throng of tweens, teens and adults who need a safe, open space in which to skate in peace, a new county-operated skate spot opened July 30 at Woodside Park, at Georgia Avenue and Spring Street, Rodriguez said. The park is about a half-mile from Veterans Plaza and is adjacent to basketball, handball and tennis courts.
But when county staff members and local skateboarders met July 28 to discuss the future of skateboarding in Silver Spring now that the plaza ban is in place, some skaters said the new venue is not big enough to hold more than seven skaters at a time. The meeting ended with an agreement that the skaters would present Rodriguez with a letter detailing their needs so that both sides could find a solution. The decision to ban skating in the plaza came from County Executive Isiah Leggett (D), Rodriguez said. The county has the right to control activity in a public space if the activity has a negative impact on the safety and welfare of residents, he added. SOURCE: Washington Post
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