SILVER SPRING, Md. – A Colesville man says he has never won anything before in his life, until now.
Garth Burleyson had the closest of about 100 guesses as to when the Silver Spring Transit Center would actually open.
“October 26th, 2015,” Burleyson said his guess was. It’s a special day for him. “That is the 70th anniversary of my drafting into the Army.”
The Silver Spring Transit Center finally opened to the public, four years later than scheduled and 50 million dollars more costly than anticipated.
The Action Committee for Transit had a contest back in 2013 to guess when the Silver Spring Transit Center would finally open.
“We had some skeptics say never,” organization president Nick Brand told WTOP. “We did have a number of entrants for 2016, four or five for this year – of course Garth was the closest. Since we had the competition in 2013, we had a few for late 2013 and early 2014.”
For using his best guessing powers, Burleyson won a $100 gift certificate to the 8407 Kitchen Bar in Silver Spring, which overlooks the new transit center.
While he is happy it is open, he told WTOP the project isn’t finished yet.
“It still has a long ways to go, even though they say it’s finished,” Burleyson said. “There is not a covered walkway between the bus bay and the subway platforms. People have to get off the bus – under cover – go out in the rain and get back under cover at the subway station. Not a good idea.”
But his thought overall?
“It’s a good start.”
