Montgomery County’s four “streeteries” will continue this fall with changes, the county announced on Monday.
The streetery program began in 2020 to help businesses stay afloat during COVID-19 and allow residents to move freely on public streets. Now, as the the pandemic eases, the streeteries are being revaluated, the county said in a statement. The streeteries are located in Silver Spring, Wheaton and Bethesda.
According to County Executive Marc Elrich, the county is working with the community in each area to see how the streets should operate in the future.
“The streeteries showed new possibilities, and I would like to see how we might continue some form of these activities as we move beyond just trying to accommodate the activities within the constraints of the pandemic,” Elrich said.
In Montgomery County, the term streetery is used when a street is closed to cars to allow space for outdoor dining and shopping. In D.C., a streetery uses only part of the street, such as when a parking spot is closed for outdoor dining.
The streetery on Newell Street in Silver Spring will close after Labor Day and reopen to cars. It will become a streetery again during designated public events. This decision was based on a community survey that gave the closed street as a gathering space mixed reviews, according to the county.
The Woodmont Avenue location in Bethesda will temporarily end and partially reopen to cars after Labor Day. The closure is due to construction on the Woodmont Avenue Cycle Track.
The Price Avenue in Wheaton and the Norfolk Avenue streeteries in Bethesda will continue for the foreseeable future.
After Labor Day, businesses will need to have county permits that ensure they have a streetery designation and meet accessibility requirements, the county said. The streeteries may also be suspended in winter months due to inclement weather.
"We are optimistic that these streets will continue to serve the public well,” MCDOT Director Chris Conklin said.
