New Silver Spring Building to include bike storage room, extend Met Branch Trail

A Bethesda developer has submitted an updated sketch plan for the Ripley II building to be built in Silver Spring's Ripley District. The project, built along the railroad tracks, will include a half mile of the Metropolitan Branch Trail that closes the gap between Ripley Street and the historic B&O Station. Because of it's location, the building will have a dedicated bicycle entry and storage room that

will be accessed from the western side of the building, adjacent to the Metropolitan Branch Trail (in recognition of the large number of bicyclists expected to live at and visit the Revised Project, given its adjacency to the Metropolitan Branch Trail and proximity to other bicycle routes in and around the Silver Spring CBD).

There'll also be a dog washing room in the same area. 

And it won't just be a trail against a wall

The Metropolitan Branch Trail extension along the west side of the Property includes a 10-foot wide bicycle path cut through a 20-foot-wide landscaped setback. Tall windows will anchor the building along the landscaped area, providing a visual connection from the retail and building amenities to the extended trail. A terrace for outdoor dining abuts the trail, to activate the west side of the building and communicate the building’s ground floor retail use to trail users and people coming from the Metro.

No word on when construction will begin or end. 

As can be seen on the image on top, the trail will have a connection to the north side of the building and along the south it will connect to the new plaza. On the south it will also swing around a wall or fence onto county-owned land where the trail will continue south. 

It doesn't look quite as green or inviting as it did in this old image.

Comments

[Drew]

The on-street portions of the current interim MBT route aren't too bad, but there are a few portions lacking bike lanes where I can feel squeezed when there are cars around. This Silver Spring section, and the DC section being built near Fort Totten, will definitely help in that regard.