Experts from the Urban Land Institute have come up with some recommendations on revitalizing the historic Glen Echo Park in Montgomery County, Maryland.
The panel, sponsored by the Glen Echo Park Partnership for Arts and Culture and the JPB Foundation, followed a multiday visit from the institute’s experts.
They discussed strategies to attract new, diverse audiences to the park year round. The panel also explored measures that will make the park more environmentally sustainable.
One of the first topics addressed was accessibility.
“It’s a beautiful sight, but it’s also in a lot of ways isolated and difficult to access,” said Audrey Wennink with the Metropolitan Planning Council.
Wennink described the lack of accessibility as a limiting factor.
“This limits the diversity of the people that have come to the park. We know that a large share of the population doesn’t drive. There are probably a lot of households in D.C. that are zero car households, where people have chosen to live a car-free lifestyle,” Wennink said.
She added, “Low-income households may not have a car, people with disabilities may not drive so there’s a lot of people that can’t get here if they must have a car.”
She also suggested that leaders consider the sustainability of driving.
“You really are going to want to do everything you can to avoid building additional parking given the stormwater issues you have,” Wennink said.
She also urged the county to make the park more bike-friendly by increasing signage and including bike racks.
Aileen Horn with KDG Architecture recommended “expanding the programming and communication for teenagers and young adults.”
“We talked about bike riding. That’s the way people are moving — the young people — are moving. They want to get out. They’re coming to the park anyway, let’s get them involved, let’s incorporate them as part of this community and not let them age out at age 10 because they don’t feel like there’s programming for them,” Horn stated.
The panel suggested ramping up the entertainment like “bark socials” for dog owners, incorporating food trucks, and having a pop-up beer garden for local breweries to come host events.
