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The next step will be to look within the Department of Public Works and Transportation, and then in County Executive Douglas M. Duncan's budget.

If Duncan's administration cannot fund the project, the County Council could vote on whether to distribute additional funds before the next fiscal year.

The county recognizes the need to fix traffic in Silver Spring, but realizes it is a matter of time to pay for it, said Robert Kendal, director of the county's management and budget office.

"This is, for sure, an important subject," Kendal said.

WHY JOHNNY CAN'T WALK TO SCHOOL

National Trust Identifies Serious Threats to Historic Neighborhood Schools,
Calls for Major Public Policy Changes in New National Report

(Washington, D.C., Nov. 16, 2000) -- Ask any grandmother today about her childhood, and she will most likely tell you she walked to school. She will describe the school as a wonderful building in the heart of town. She will tell you that classes were small and teachers knew students by name.

Today, fewer than one in eight students walks or bikes to school. The landmark schools that touched the lives of millions and became stalwart symbols of civic pride are fast disappearing.  They are giving way to huge, warehouse-like schools in remote areas reachable only by stressful drives through congested traffic.  And along with their demise has gone yet another of the ties that once bound people and towns across America.

In a new report released on November 16, 2000,  "Historic Neighborhood Schools in the Age of Sprawl: Why Johnny Can't Walk to School," the National Trust for Historic Preservation contends that public policies, including excessive acreage requirements, funding formulas and planning code exemptions, are promoting the spread of mega-school sprawl on outlying, undeveloped land at the expense of small, walkable, community-centered schools in older neighborhoods.  The National Trust, a private nonprofit preservation organization that works to save diverse historic places and revitalize communities, calls on school administrators and public officials to establish policies that will preserve and upgrade historic neighborhood schools.  Among its recommendations, the National Trust suggests eliminating arbitrary acreage standards, funding biases, and certain zoning exemptions that undermine the public's ability to maintain older and historic schools as centers of community life and learning.

"Schools historically have been at the heart of American communities," said National Trust President Richard Moe. "When the school anchors a neighborhood, both the students and residents benefit. The trend of building shopping mall-sized schools outside town alienates students, encourages sprawl and impairs our sense of community.

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