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New Wayne Avenue garage opens in Downtown
Silver Spring
Seven-Level Garage Brings 1,740 Parking Spaces
to Redeveloped Area
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Cutting the parking card "tape"
are (from left) Wendy Perdue, who served on earlier
citizen redevelopment committees; County Council member
Tom Perez; District 20 Senator Ida Ruben; County Executive
Douglas M. Duncan; Clayton Foulger, vice-president of
Foulger-Pratt; Andy Frazier, president of the Greater
Silver Spring Chamber of Commerce; and Jim Todd of The
Peterson Companies, representing PFA, the redevelopment
projectÕs private-sector partner.
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With a snip of the scissors and applause from an appreciative
audience, Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan opened
the Wayne Avenue Garage that will provide more than 1,700
new parking spaces to the new Downtown area of Silver Spring.
Located on Wayne Avenue between Georgia Avenue and Fenton
Street, the garage is being called "state-of-the-art"
by County Parking and Public Works officials.
Duncan said, "We’re especially proud of this garage
for a couple of reasons. It not only brings well over 1,700
new parking spaces to this exciting new Downtown area, but
contains more state-of-the-art technology than any other garage
in the County system.
"The covered promenade provides an easy link from here
to the Silver Plaza where people can go to enjoy a meal at
one of the many restaurants or take in a movie at the new
Majestic Theatre which opens later today. It makes the many
amenities of the Downtown accessible to visitors and provides
a central parking place for people who deal with local businesses.
We’ve all been waiting for this day," Duncan said.
The garage will employ the Pay On Foot (POF) parking system
that allows patrons to pay at automated machines before reclaiming
their cars. The machines will accept any denomination of coin
or dollar bills. This same system is used at Dulles International
Airport and at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. Signage located
conveniently throughout the garage will highlight each step
in the process. Attendant kiosks have been located near the
promenade bank of machines. The attendants will be on duty
to answer questions and assist patrons with the payment process.
Additional signs on each ramp within the garage will inform
drivers of the number of empty spaces available on the next
level as well as upper levels.
Approximately 7,000 square feet of office space in the garage
will be occupied by the Round House Theater School within
the coming months.
Parking at the seven-level garage will be free until the
Pay On Foot system is fully operational on or about May 17.
After that time, parking will be 50 cents per hour, Mondays
through Thursdays, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Fridays from
7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Evenings and weekends will be free.
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