Get ready to dust off your bikes and join us as we pedal our way through the month of May! This month-long celebration is packed with exciting activities and events aimed at promoting cycling as a fun, healthy, and sustainable mode of transportation:

1. National Ride A Bike Day is the first Sunday in May on May 5th! It’s a great day to join up with family and friends for a bike ride.
2. Bike to School Day – On May 8th, students and parents are encouraged to ride to school together and learn about proper helmet fitting and basic bike safety. Check with your school administration or PTA for details about your school’s Bike to School Day celebrations. How many items can you spot from the scavenger hunt?
3. Learn to Ride Bike Classes for Adults – It may be too late to sign up for our May 11th Class, but please join the waitlist so we can know how many people are interested in classes to schedule for next year: waba.org/learntoride/
4. Bike to Work Day – On May 17th, we encourage everyone to ditch their cars and pedal to work. It’s a great way to reduce traffic congestion, get some exercise, and start the day on a positive note. Stop by one of the three (3) pit stops this year! Takoma/Langley Crossroads, Downtown/Old Takoma and Sligo Trail on New Hampshire Ave. For more information and to register, visit biketoworkmetrodc.com
5. On-going Bike Repairs – Be sure to stop by and get your bicycle in top shape for the season. Bike Werks will be onsite to perform minor repairs, parts will be available to buy onsite, and installation of those parts is covered by the City of Takoma Park! Get dates and more information here: https://bit.ly/bikerepairTKPK.

Share your bike month experiences on social media using the hashtag #BikeTKPK. Let’s showcase the power of pedal power!

You are invited and encouraged to provide feedback on the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget for the City of Takoma Park!

Try out our new budgeting tool: Balancing Act

This budget simulation is a way for you to learn more about the City’s spending and revenues.

• The module starts with a snapshot of revenues and expenditures for the Fiscal Year 2025 Proposed Budget.
• As you work through the module, you have the ability to adjust various expenditures and revenues by using the Plus and Minus symbols.
• Real-time updates will show the impact of your funding choices at the top of the screen.
• Before submitting, please provide comments as you adjust the budget so we can understand your reason for adjusting each item.

From Montgomery Planning (M-NCPPC)

On April 2, the Montgomery County Council voted to approve the Takoma Park Minor Master Plan Amendment!

The plan preserves and expands affordable housing and advances economic development and employment opportunities in a section of the City of Takoma Park from the Takoma Park Community Center in the west to the Erie Center and Washington Adventist University and the former Washington Adventist Hospital site in the east.

Read Montgomery Planning’s press release about the plan’s approval for more information. Read the Takoma Park City Council’s March 22, 2024, letter of support for the plan.

Watch the Council Vote

Highlights of the plan’s recommendations

Land Use, Zoning and Housing

• For compatible future development flexibility, recommend residential and commercial mixed-use zoning for properties on and around Washington Adventist campus and along Maple Avenue.
• Highlight new and existing strategies for compatibility of new development with the surrounding communities.

Improved Connectivity

• Incorporate a well-lit, walkable Green Promenade from Town Hall to the Washington Adventist campus.
• Seek opportunities for a micro-mobility hub for better multi-modal access.

Environmental Resiliency

• Support the city’s Stormwater Management Program to improve Sligo Creek water quality and reduce untreated runoff and flooding.
• Provide methods to reduce impervious surfaces.
• Minimize urban heat islands by incorporating cooling elements like street trees and shaded seating areas into the streetscape.

Parks and Open Space

• Provide for significant new public open space on the Washington Adventist campus.
• Enhance the ecological health and performance of Sligo Creek Stream Valley Park.

Historic Preservation

• List the Heffner Park Community Center, Sligo Seventh-day Adventist Church, and Krestview sites on the Master Plan for Historic Preservation.
• Study Takoma Park’s historic African American neighborhoods for potential future listing on the Master Plan for Historic Preservation and/or the National Register of Historic Places.

The plan also focuses on racial equity and social justice

Advancing racial equity and social justice is woven into the plan with specific recommendations to:

• Prioritize no net loss of affordable housing by prioritizing existing residents, recommending a diversity of unit type, preserving the number of existing affordable units, and upgrading existing affordable units.
• Propose the development of new housing with inclusive affordability.
• Increase access to parks, open space, community gardens, and local healthy food production.
• Promote cultural heritage and diversity of the community and further explore its past.
• Connect the community through increased mobility options.
• Support the creation of new diverse and welcoming public spaces.
• Provide ways to combat environmental inequities.
• Increase access to the existing transit network to help reduce reliance on single occupancy vehicles and provide all residents, regardless of car ownership, access to employment and other destinations.

Event Details

• What: Takoma Park Community Blood Drive
• When: Saturday, June 1, 2024 between 11:30 am – 04:30 pm
• Where: Takoma Park Community Center (Azalea Room). 7500 Maple Ave, Takoma Park, MD 20912
• Registration: https://www.inovabloodsaves.org/donor/schedules/drive_schedule/34060

Takoma Park Police and Inova Blood Donor Services are once again teaming up to host a Takoma Park Community Blood Drive! Your selfless act of donating blood can help save lives, and it only takes a short amount of time.  Let’s come together as a community to positively impact the health and well-being of those in need. Register today!

Registration is SOLD OUT for the Adult Learn to Ride a Bike Class at the Takoma Park Food Co-op! However, we encourage you to sign-up for the waitlist to help us determine the need for future classes.

WABA’s Adult Learn to Ride class is for participants 18 and older. Our experienced Instructors break the skills down step by step to get you on a bike and rolling in no time. Participants learn to start and stop, balance, glide, pedal and steer a bike and progress at their own pace.  Although registration spots are limited,  we encourage you to sign up for the waitlist if space runs out to help determine the need for future classes!

• When: Saturday, May 11 · 10am – 1pm
• Where: Takoma Park Food Co-op (201 Ethan Allen Avenue, Takoma Park, MD 20912)

 Learn more and join the waitlist on the official event posting: https://bit.ly/adultlearntoride

Are you a renter in the City of Takoma Park? If so, the City is looking to hear from you! The City’s tenant survey will occur between March 1- April 30. We encourage you to complete the short, 5-minute survey if you rent in the City.

Survey Details:

• Survey length: 5-10 minutes
• Access the survey online here: https://arcg.is/jb85W0
• Survey Deadline: May 1, 2024
• You should receive a survey mailed to your home with a QR code to access the survey online, or a paper version you can fill out and mail back (there is a pre-paid envelope you can use included!).

By answering the survey, you will help the City enforce housing laws and develop new programs and policies. We thank you for your time and consideration!

From City Manager DiSpirito

I want to announce that I have promoted Ira Kowler to the permanent Director of Housing and Community Development.

Ira has performed very well this past year in the acting HCD Director role while still covering his economic development duties.  He has the enthusiastic support of his department staff, works quite well with the Senior Leadership Team, and has earned this opportunity.  His knowledge of planning, housing, and economic development, coupled with his productivity, will continue to serve us well.  He will report to Deputy City Manager Eubanks.

Please join me in congratulating Ira on his permanent role.

A Message from Robert DiSpirito, City Manager:

In the weeks since I started, I have, among many other things, observed and assessed what I believe would be the most productive executive administrative structure that will most effectively serve the Mayor and Council, this organization, and our residents. Therefore, I have appointed a two-deputy city manager structure. I am pleased to announce Andrew Bolduc (internal operations) and David Eubanks (external operations) as Deputy City Managers for the City of Takoma Park.

Please join me in congratulating Andrew and David on their new positions!

• Deputy City Manager- Andrew Bolduc
• Deputy City Manager- David Eubanks

Purpose:

The City of Takoma Park (“City”) invites qualified firms (“Firms”) to submit responses (“Proposals”) to this Request for Proposals for the Houston Avenue Stormwater Treatment Project.

Registration Information

• All prospective responders must register with the City of Takoma Park to submit a responsive Proposal and receive future RFP communications, including any Request for Information updates.
• To register for the RFP, complete the Registration Form
• Once completed, a registration confirmation email will be shared with the prospective Respondent.
• Responders registered before Monday, March 18, 2024, will receive a link to participate in the Information Virtual Meeting at 1:00 p.m. Wednesday, March 20, 2024. An email will be sent out separately.

Publication Date:

Request for Proposals (RFP) documents were made available on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. Bid packages may be obtained from the City’s website:  https://takomaparkmd.gov/services/bids-contracts/

Deadline:

Proposals are due no later than 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 4, 2024

Contacts:

Daryl Braithwaite, Director
Public Works
Email: darylb@takomaparkmd.gov

Patti Mallin, Grants Coordinator
Housing and Community Development
Email: grants@takomaparkmd.gov