Northwood News ♦ February 2018

President’s Message

By Sharon Canavan

Happy New Year.  The holidays are over and winter has settled in.  We’ve all learned a new weather term — bomb cyclone — and been revisited by the frigid cold of another polar vortex.  Despite the cold, so far we have had more salt than snow on our roads, but winter is far from over.  And doing what my children think I do exceedingly well — nag — this is a chance to remind you that unshoveled sidewalks are much more than a simple inconvenience.  Children need to get to school safely and cleared sidewalks allow all of us to enjoy our walkable community.  NextDoor, the NFCCA listserve, and NFCCA’s other social media platforms are handy resources to connect with individuals who want to earn extra money shoveling snow.

But we can also look forward to spring, or at least that is what the seed catalogues want us to think.  Board member Kevin Harris has been pressing the Parks and Planning department to rehabilitate the soccer field in the new park.  Unfortunately, regular maintenance did not occur in the Spring or the Fall as scheduled.  They will be installing sod within the next three months, according to Crystal Ruiz of Council President Riemer’s office, who is assisting us in working with the Parks Department.

At the December meeting, we heard from Community Service Officers Joy Patil from the 3rd District and Katie Beard from the 4th District.  Our neighborhood is divided between two police districts with Dennis Avenue as the boundary line — who knew?  Both officers emphasized that all residents — no matter which district they reside in — could call either the 3rd District (240.773.6800) or the 4th District (240.773.5500) directly, or 911 for emergencies, or 301.279.8000 for non-emergencies.  The officers indicated that our community is a safe one with no major crime trends in our neighborhood.  Nevertheless, the officers encouraged residents to contact the Police to report all suspicious activities and incidents, such as vehicle break-ins, even if nothing is taken.  These reports are useful to the police who use them to spot trends across different neighborhoods.

Also, Patrick Butler from the Montgomery County Planning Department gave an update on the Viva White Oak project.  He explained that the Montgomery County Council had adopted the White Oak Science Gateway Master Plan with the hope and expectation that a life science center could be established in east Montgomery County, building on the synergy of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which has relocated to White Oak and the Washington Adventist Hospital being built off Cherry Hill Road.  Although this new development is intended to spur much-needed economic development in the southern portion of Montgomery County, the fact remains that adding housing along with commercial offices and retail could exacerbate the traffic congestion that this area already faces.

Speaking of traffic, I attended a meeting to review the plans for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) stations as well as the BRT Open House at Montgomery Blair.  In Four Corners heading south (towards Silver Spring), a BRT station is proposed to be located on the sidewalk adjacent to the 4 Corners Pub’s parking lot between the gas station and shopping strip.  On the northbound route, the BRT station will be located on Colesville Rd./Rt. 29, adjacent to Blair High School.  The BRT stops will be separate from the existing bus stops for Metro buses and Ride-On buses.  This location of the BRT stops in Four Corners might be subject to change, however; six of nine county council members recently signed a letter asking the Department of Transportation to designate funds to study the feasibility of locating the BRT stops in the median.  We will continue to monitor BRT plans closely.

This newsletter is a great way to communicate with everyone in the 1,500 households in our neighborhood, but the printed word makes for a one-way conversation.  We would love to see and hear from more of you, so join us at upcoming NFCCA meetings, which take place the second Wednesday in February, April, June, October, and December at 7:30 p.m. in Forest Knolls Elementary School.  Learn about county services, upcoming development, and other issues that affect the livability of our great community.   ■