City Offices and Facilities Closed on Thursday, November 28, through Sunday, December 1 for Thanksgiving Holiday
Thursday, November 28, trash, food waste, and recycling routes will be collected on Wednesday, November 27. Friday, November 29, trash, food waste and recycling routes will be collected on Saturday, November 30.
The City of Takoma Park’s all inclusive City Guide is the best way to learn about all the great classes available and events happening in Takoma Park. Sports, arts, library events, classes, and concerts… it’s all in the City Guide!
The 2017 Winter City Guide was delivered in the December edition of the Takoma Park Newsletter. It is available at City facilities and online.
Registration for Recreation Department programs begins:
A long anticipated ban on the use of plastic single-use bags at point of sale went into effect in Takoma Park last week, on December 1. The City Council, known for its progressive stance when it comes to sustainable policies and practices, passed the ordinance earlier this year after much consideration and discussion about the ban.
“We in Takoma Park, Maryland have been a national leader in the preservation of natural resources and the environment,” said Councilmember Jarrett Smith who initially proposed the ban. “With this plastic bag ban, our tenacity for all things that protect the environment continues…Sligo Creek, the Chesapeake Bay, and other environmental treasures will always be a priority for our city.”
Mayor Kate Stewart echoed these sentiments: “Takoma Park is proud of its dedication to protect the environment and create a sustainable community. Our deep commitment is exemplified by our willingness to pioneer new programs, stemming back to the early days of recycling and tree protection laws.”
The plastic bag ban is one of many “green” city policies geared towards reducing environmental degradation resulting from the widespread use of products that can have negative environmental consequences. The city also has a Safe Grow Act which places restrictions on the use of harmful cosmetic pesticides for lawn care on public and private property, a ban on the use of polystyrene packaging and food-service ware within the city, and a curbside food waste collection program available to all city residents who receive curbside trash and recycling pickup.
The plastic bag ban does provide a few exceptions, including dry cleaning bags, newspaper bags where newspapers are delivered by the publisher, and non-point of sale plastic bags such as those used for raw or bulk items like produce, grains, candy, and small hardware items. Farmers markets within the city are exempt from the ban for the first year, until December 1, 2017, at which point they may provide compostable plastic bags to customers.
While it was initially expected to be in full force as of December 1, the emphasis for the first 90 days of the new ordinance will focus on education and outreach to local business.
Beginning with registration for winter recreation department classes on Thursday, Dec. 15, Takoma Park residents won’t have to worry as much about spaces filling up as fast in some of the more popular programs, such as the ones for seniors. They will register a full week earlier than non-residents, who will be eligible to register for classes on Thursday, Dec. 22.
“We started looking at implementing this policy about a year ago based on the popularity of our programs and classes, which increasingly are full and have waiting lists,” said Takoma Park Recreation Director Gregory Clark. “There needed to be a mechanism in place so that residents would have the first opportunity to participate since we are supported by City tax dollars.”
Before coming to Takoma Park 10 years ago, Clark worked in Prince Georges County where early or preferred registration for residents was already in place. “This practice is used in other jurisdictions in our area and around the country,” he said.
Residents can take advantage of preferred registration both online and in person. Residency is based on having an address within the City limits. To confirm whether you are a City resident, visit takomaparkmd.gov/news.
Registration will be available both online and in person.
UPDATE: Due to circumstances beyond our control, this event has been postponed indefinitely. We will provide notice when a new date is determined.
A Community Conversation with Miguel Fraga, First Secretary for the Cuban Embassy – Sunday, December 11, 2016 at 4:30 PM
Our community has a rich history with Cuba and the Cuban people. Recent changes in the relationship between Cuba and the United States (namely, the reestablishment of diplomatic relations) have created increased opportunities for people-to-people exchange and government-to-government negotiations.
Where is the relationship between Cuba and the U.S. going? How do the elections and the recent passing of Fidel Castro impact this relationship? What does this all mean to our local community?
Join Mayor Kate Stewart, County Executive Isiah Leggett, County Councilmember Marc Elrich in a community conversation with Mr. Miguel Fraga, the First Secretary for the Cuban Embassy. During the conversation, Mr. Fraga will share with us his thoughts on these questions plus many others.
This will be an interactive conversation, with plenty of opportunity for Q&A.
Note: We strongly recommend that you RSVP for this event!
As the days get shorter and the nights get longer, it’s important for the safety and comfort of residents, shoppers, students, and workers that our street lights are working . Reporting street light outages to Pepco is easy and effective. Simply use Pepco’s online tool to report a light outage on the “cobrahead” style lights on the wooden poles.
To report a streetlight outage on a decorative metal pole, like those found on Carroll Avenue and Holton Lane, submit a request on My TKPK.
Red Line will be shut down between Fort Totten and NoMa from October 29 through November 22, 2016. Key info from WMATA:
Two stations will be closed: Brookland-CUA and Rhode Island Ave
Shuttle buses will replace trains between NoMa and Fort Totten
Expect crowding on all trains due to less frequent Red Line service
Green Line provides alternate path for travel between Fort Totten and Gallery Place
Red Line customers should consider alternate travel options and avoid traveling during rush-hour periods if possible; expect trains to be extremely crowded
The City Council and Erik Wangsness, President of Washington Adventist Hospital, with support and signatures from Dr. Weymouth Spence, President of Washington Adventist University, and Dr. Brad Stewart, Vice-President and Provost of Montgomery College’s Takoma Park-Silver Spring Campus, sent a letter to County Executive Isiah Leggett requesting an evaluation of construction of a Montgomery County Department of Recreation aquatics center on the Takoma Park campus of the Washington Adventist Hospital.
As Washington Adventist Hospital prepares to move its main hospital to White Oak, the City of Takoma Park and hospital leaders are looking at the current site for uses that complement the health services that will remain and, also importantly, improve the overall health and wellbeing of the community. An aquatics center would be an asset to both the hospital and the community.
The City wants to hear your thoughts for the ongoing Parking Management Study. The meeting boards from the October public open houses are available to download from the project web page and we will be accepting comments through November 7. Learn more and share your input: http://takomaparkmd.gov/parking-study
The Parking Study public meeting boards are on display in the Community Center (3rd Floor).
About the Study: Takoma Park is studying parking issues across the city that include meters, handicap parking, residential parking permit (RPP) zones, commercial vehicle parking, parking “hot spots”, enforcement, and City Code and regulations. The study is a comprehensive and inter-departmental effort aimed at modernizing and streamlining existing programs while preparing for ongoing developments and technological changes that affect how and where people are going in Takoma Park.
Jeffery Boston Weatherford, illustrator of You Can Fly: The Tuskegee Airmen, will talk about his artwork portraying the pioneering African-American World War 2 pilots on Wednesday, Oct. 19 at 7:30 p.m. at the Takoma Park Maryland Library. You Can Fly was written by Jeffery’s mother, the award-winning kids’ nonfiction writer Carol Boston Weatherford; the book is Jeffery Weatherford’s debut as an illustrator. In the book, Carol Weatherford details — in 33 short poems — the compelling story of how the Tuskegee Airmen fulfilled their dream of flying despite the racist odds against them. In its review, Booklist noted: “The use of second-person voice addressing the airmen puts readers in the shoes of courageous individuals who took part in the ‘Tuskegee Experiment.’ Included are evocative scratchboard illustrations contributed by the author’s son. With poems such as ‘Operation Prove Them Wrong’ and ‘Lena Horne: More than a Pinup,’ this volume offers a vivid, personal point of view.” At our program, Jeffery Weatherford will talk about the research he did for his illustrations and show his final artwork. He’ll also do some live drawing. While the book is aimed at kids ages 9 up, teens and adults who are interested in history and/or art also will enjoy this program! Copies of “You Can Fly” will be for sale, but the program is free and no purchase is required to attend.
Mayor Kate Stewart sent a letter to the Maryland Health Care Commission to comment on behalf of the Takoma Park City Council encouraging the establishment of regulations allowing fro Freestanding Medical Facilities (FMF) in appropriate locations.
Adoption of appropriate regulations would help ensure access to acute medical care for Takoma Park residents after Washington Adventist Hospital relocates to its new White Oak facility over six and a half miles away from the current Takoma Park campus.
