New Parking Lot Safety Campaign Unveiled: Behind the Wheel or On Foot it’s “Heads Up!” in Lots and Garages

A Countywide public education campaign to address the growing number of pedestrian collisions occurring in parking lots and garages in Montgomery County has been unveiled by County Executive Ike Leggett.

In 2012, parking lot and garage collisions comprised nearly one-third of all pedestrian collisions in the County. Even more startling is the fact that of those collisions, nearly 20 percent resulted in severe, debilitating injuries -- the same percentage as road collisions. And, overall, 54 percent of the parking lot/garage collisions in 2012 resulted in some type of injury.

The campaign’s slogan, “Heads Up in Parking Lots,” features the message: “Don’t run over people. Don’t get run over.” The campaign consists of Ride On bus ads in English and Spanish; bus shelter ads aimed at pedestrians and drivers; posters in English and Spanish; safety tip cards in English and Spanish available at libraries, recreation and community centers, and stores; distribution of reusable shopping bags featuring a safety message; pavement decals at retail stores, and the 19 County parking garages and 21 County parking lots; two public service announcements: Heads Up in Parking Lots and Don’t run over people. Don’t get run over; and a new website featuring education materials in English and Spanish that can be downloaded and distributed to community, civic, religious and school groups.

Visit the website for more information.

Council Approves Plans for Bus Rapid Transit System

The Montgomery County has unanimously approved the Countywide Transit Corridors Functional Master Plan, the main purpose of which is to establish the routes and possible station locations of the proposed countywide Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system. BRT is a plan for specially designed buses to travel over mostly dedicated lines throughout the County.

The Countywide Transit Corridors Functional Master Plan recommends a network of Bus Rapid Transit lines covering about 82 miles and 110 stations, not including the already master-planned CCT.

The master plan approved by the Council recommends the routes, the station locations and, for each segment, the minimum right-of-way. The recommended plan also states whether there would be dedicated lanes or not and whether there would be up to 0, 1 or 2 lanes added in the road's cross-section dedicated to BRT.

Read more.

Transportation Options for County Seniors and Their Families in Eight Languages

Hot off the presses -- County Executive Ike Leggett and the Office of Public Information have released a two-page fact sheet for seniors and their families about Montgomery County Transportation Options for Older Adults. In addition to English and Spanish, the information is now available in Arabic, Chinese, French, Korean, Russian and Vietnamese.

Distributing the information is easy. Just select the language you need and share with your neighborhood and faith listserves, friends, neighbors and loved ones. For hard copies, email karen.falcon@montgomerycountymd.gov and indicate how many you need and in what language(s).

Check senior site transportation section for more information.

Annual Thanksgiving Parade Ushers in Holiday Season

A crowd estimated at 20,000 people -- of all ages -- turned out to watch the County’s annual Thanksgiving Parade and welcome the holiday season. As these photos show, parade marchers and observers, alike, seemed to have a good time celebrating the start of the holiday season.

Top. A Montgomery County float represents the historical beginnings of Thanksgiving.

Middle. Baby Smurf -- presented by the Celebrate Downtown Silver Spring Foundation, Inc. -- gets ready to head out along the parade route.

Bottom. Colorful clowns delighted the crowd.

Parade photos by Ken Stanek Photography

A New Home for Wheaton's Rescue Squad

More than 300 people attended the recent Grand Opening of the new Wheaton Volunteer Rescue Squad station at the intersection of Georgia and Arcola aves., just south of the Wheaton Library.

The new station, at 29,000 gross square feet, is nearly four times larger than the previous station which was at Grandview and Blueridge aves. It is the fourth fire station to open in the County within the past seven years.

Results of Homeless Survey Announced

During the Montgomery County 100,000 HOMES Campaign Registry Week in early November, hundreds of volunteers answered the call and participated in a variety of activities, including canvassing the County and surveying 369 homeless individuals.

Teams canvassed the streets, woods and shelters, and covered "hot spots" in Rockville, Aspen Hill, Gaithersburg, Germantown, White Flint, Silver Spring, Bethesda, Wheaton, Glenmont, Langley Park, Chevy Chase, Hillandale and White Oak. Volunteer teams captured data on health conditions, hospitalizations, length of homelessness, etc.

The results, reported at a community debriefing in mid-November, attended by the County Executive, County Councilmembers and local organizations, included the following findings about the local homeless poopulation:

• Average age was 45.6 years 
• 47% reported at least one serious health condition—of this group, 74% were medically vulnerable 
• 22% of those surveyed received inpatient emergency room treatment at least three times last year -- of those identified as medically vulnerable, more than 50% received inpatient treatment at least three times last year 
• 31 individuals reported having veterans status 
• 26% of those surveyed were victims of violent attacks while experiencing homelessness 

Read more about the campaign and findings.

Fire Rescue Service Offers Tips for a Safe Thanksgiving

More cooking fires occur on Thanksgiving than on any other day of the year. With Thanksgiving quickly approaching, Fire Chief Steven Lohr urges residents to enjoy the holiday and to keep safety at the top of everyone’s “to do” list.

“Whether you’re a seasoned chef or a rookie cooking your first holiday feast, the strategies for serving up a safe meal are the same,” said Chief Lohr. “Unattended cooking is the leading cause of residential fires and we’re asking residents to follow some simple safety tips [when cooking a turkey the traditional way or frying it] and to have a happy and safe Thanksgiving holiday.”

County Holiday Schedule for Thanksgiving Day

• County Offices – closed 
• Libraries – closed 
• County liquor stores – closed 
• Recreation – all programs and facilities are closed
• Montgomery Parks – all facilities are closed on Thursday. For operating schedules on Friday, including Brookside Gardens, ice rinks, tennis centers, trains and carousels, visit www.MontgomeryParks.org. 
• Ride On – Sunday schedule 
• Metrobus – Sunday schedule 
• Metrorail – Sunday schedule 
• TRiPS Commuter Stores (Silver Spring and Friendship Heights) – closed
• Refuse/recycling pickup – no collection* 
• Transfer Station – closed 
• Parking at public garages, lots, curbside meters – free 
• MCPS Administrative Offices – closed 
• State offices & courts – closed 

*Collection provided one day later for remainder of week (last collection day is Saturday).

Go Green for the Holidays: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Although the winter holiday season traditionally produces extra amounts of waste, the Division of Solid Waste Services (DSWS) [Dept. of Environmental Protection] reminds residents that the various festivities and activities taking place actually offer great opportunities for residents to recycle many items generated this time of year. 

Unwanted Mail
In the weeks leading up to the holidays, many households receive larger-than-usual quantities of advertisements, sale flyers and catalogs. Before placing all the unwanted mail into the recycling bin, residents should take a moment to remove their names from the companies' mailing lists. Often, all that is needed is a call to a toll-free number provided in the mailing. Learn more at http://montgomerymd.catalogchoice.org and https://www.dmachoice.org/.

See a wide variety of tips from DSWS on how to Reduce, Reuse, Recycle when shopping, wrapping and entertaining, and what to do with the live Christmas tree after the holidays.

Also check out about Recycling Beyond the Holiday Season.

Shop for Those in Need on #Giving Tuesday

The Office of Community Partnerships reminds residents doing holiday shopping to take a minute and help neighbors in need.

It’s easy to do through #GivingTuesday, a nationwide day of charitable giving that offers the opportunity to remember those less fortunate and make a donation that will help them have a happy holiday season, as well.