This Plan seeks to provide public services to employees and residents as part of building a well-rounded and

well-served community. As a small planning area, without a current resident population, opportunity and
demand for facilities in Twinbrook has been limited. This Plan recommends incorporating parks, paths, and
other public facilities into redevelopment projects to provide community facilities to serve new residents and
an increased employee population.

 Use opportunities generated by redevelopment to create urban parks and open spaces to serve residents
and employees.

 Ensure that changing public service needs are met.

There is no existing parkland within the boundaries of the Twinbrook Plan. Near the area’s eastern edge is
Rock Creek Stream Valley Park, which abuts Parklawn Memorial Park and is accessible from Twinbrook
Parkway. Its paved hiker/biker path extends 14 miles from Rock Creek Regional Park south to the District line.
Nearby resources within the park include a group picnic area and a primitive camping area.

Twinbrook is also served by local parks in adjacent planning areas. Closest to the Plan area is the Twinbrook
Local Park along Twinbrook Parkway, and though it is in the City of Rockville’s jurisdiction, it is a recreation
resource for future Twinbrook residents. The Parklawn Local Park on Veirs Mill Road includes two heavily used
soccer fields. Winding Creek Local Park, also off of Veirs Mill Road, has been recently renovated and will
eventually be connected to the Twinbrook Plan area via a bike route along Montrose Parkway and from there
to the Rock Creek Stream Valley Park. It includes a playground, basketball court, and two soccer fields.

The Parklawn Memorial Park, a private cemetery on the Plan area’s eastern boundary, also offers visual open
space and is used informally for walking.

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Park paths and trails should work with the system of sidewalks and pedestrian routes to make walking
connections between the community and its parks. The 2003 Park Users Satisfaction Survey identified trail use
(walking, biking, jogging etc.) has been identified as the most popular recreation activity of County residents
of all ages and abilities.

Trail resources in the Twinbrook area include the Rock Creek Stream Valley Park Trail and the future Matthew
Henson Trail that will connect the Rock Creek Trail with Northwest Branch and along streets to Wheaton
Regional Park. A bike path along Montrose Parkway will make this trail network accessible from the planning
area’s southern boundary.

Improved walking connections are needed within the Twinbrook area. This Plan’s sidewalk and trail
recommendations will connect residents and employees to both Metro and the park system via a system of
comprehensive streetscape improvements and privately provided urban open spaces.

Parks for Tomorrow (1998) indicates that urban residential areas including Twinbrook need several types of
recreation including hiker/biker paths and community connectors, neighborhood recreation for new
residential areas, and urban recreation and open space for existing and proposed businesses. This Plan’s
recommendations recognize that urban areas present distinct challenges and opportunities to provide park
and recreation resources and strive to incorporate and create those resources with redevelopment.

The 2005 Park, Recreation, and Open Space Master Plan measures need based on residential population. Its
assumptions are suburban in nature – that housing will be built on large tracts of land and that desired
facilities are playing fields and courts. Accordingly, it indicated that the North Bethesda planning area, which
includes Twinbrook, needs additional ball fields, soccer fields, and playgrounds. Large recreation areas
cannot be provided in Twinbrook, given the scarcity and value of land in the planning area.

This Plan recommends facilities scaled to an urban area and provided through a combination of public and
private efforts. Proposals include small urban public spaces, larger park spaces, and connections to nearby
local and regional parks.

 Incorporate recreation facilities into residential and commercial development

A key to providing adequate, close-to-home recreation is ensuring that opportunities are incorporated into
plans for new development, which should provide private recreation areas for all age groups, as appropriate.
Private redevelopment should include:
 playgrounds for young children
 multi-use courts for children, teens, and young adults
 level grass areas for leisure and informal play to serve people of all ages
 adult recreation areas
 walking and bicycling paths.

In mid-rise and high-rise housing and transit station areas such as Twinbrook, indoor recreation areas will be
essential. Project development should explore innovative approaches to providing these facilities, including
rooftops and indoor facilities.

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 Incorporate landscaped open spaces into commercial and residential redevelopment that may be private,
but are open for public enjoyment.

As sites redevelop, open spaces should be added. Landscaping, seating areas, and public art can
improve the working and living environment. Environmental function should be designed into park
facilities.

 Redevelopment of Area 5, north of Fishers Lane, should reserve significant open space at the site’s
northern end, to pull open space and a possible future park connection into the Plan area.

 Require two new urban parks.

A new urban park, privately developed and maintained, but open to area residents and employees should
be created along Parklawn Drive as a public amenity space related to new development. It should
complement the streetscape and urban design features, relate to the Parklawn-Fishers mid-block path,
provide seating areas, and a gathering place.

A second park, also privately developed and maintained and open to area residents, should be located at
the eastern end Fishers Lane, incorporated into pedestrian road improvements and connected to
sidewalks and bike routes.

 Improve existing sidewalks and paths, and create new routes.

New and redeveloped areas should emphasize walkways and path connections to parks and recreation
facilities inside and outside of the planning area. These routes should be wide enough for safety and
lighted for night use.

Another potential route is a connection through Area 5, to the Veirs Mill Road pedestrian bridge and
eventually to Rock Creek Park. This route presents environmental and engineering challenges, but it has
the potential to connect Aspen Hill residents with the Twinbrook Metro Station and would be a commuting
and recreation route that would serve an increasing resident and employee population. The paved path
should be created through redevelopment as an amenity and through public funding on parkland. It
should be routed to avoid the stream buffer and make best use of publicly owned land.

At the time of subdivision of Area 5, the value and specific characteristics of this path should be examined.
This path highlights the need for a continuous sidewalk along the west side of Veirs Mill Road that would
connect to the new bridge and for a pedestrian connection to the bridge from the existing east side
sidewalk.

The Twinbrook Plan area is served by recreation centers in surrounding communities. The closest center is the
Twinbrook Recreation Center just north of the Plan area on Twinbrook Parkway owned and operated by the
City of Rockville. Its facilities include a gym and fitness room, game courts, computers, and community
meeting rooms. Twinbrook is also within the service area of the Montgomery Aquatic Center in North
Bethesda and could be served by a planned recreation center in the Rock Spring area.

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 Support construction of the CIP planned recreation center in the Rock Spring area of North Bethesda.

At present, without a resident population, the Twinbrook Plan area does not generate any students in the
Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) system. The Plan’s proposal to allow multi-family housing through
the TOMX zones will likely generate students.

The MCPS regularly estimates student generation based on Census and other sample demographic
information. The following estimates of demand are based on recommendations for more housing in the
Twinbrook Plan area.

The potentially 1,200 units proposed by this Plan could generate an estimated 138 new students to be served.
This does not include students generated in the approximately 1,600 dwelling units at Twinbrook Station.

Schools in the Walter Johnson and Richard Montgomery high school clusters would serve residents in the
Twinbrook Plan area. Space availability projections indicate a current shortfall at schools in both clusters.
However, neither the shortfall nor students generated through future development are sufficient to require that
an elementary, middle, or high school site be identified in the planning area.

Factoring in school improvement projects adopted in the FY 2005 Capital Budget and the FY 2005-2010 CIP,
schools in the Richard Montgomery cluster will be at or near capacity for the forecast period, with Richard
Montgomery High School having space available in 2007 through a modernization project. The elementary
and high schools in the Walter Johnson cluster are not expected to exceed capacity until 2011 and 2009
respectively, when modernization projects will be complete.

MCPS bases these assessments on comparisons of projected enrollment and available capacity in future
years, and on residential development of mid-rise projects with structured parking.

 Continue to work with MCPS throughout the Plan’s implementation to ensure adequate school capacity is
provided for future residential development.

The Twinbrook Plan area is currently served by fire, rescue, and emergency medical services (EMS) at Rockville
Volunteer Fire Department Station 23 on Rollins Avenue and Kensington Station 21 on Veirs Mill Road.
Rockville Station 3 on Hungerford Drive, just north of the Rockville Town Center, can also serve Twinbrook.

The Twinbrook plan area is located on the eastern edge of Station 23’s service area and service to the area
meets all the response goals set by the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service. Station 21 serves the
Plan area’s northeast corner.
New residences and businesses in Twinbrook will increase the day and nighttime populations, resulting in
increased EMS incident call load, and may create demand for an additional EMS unit at nearby Station 23.
The EMS call volume will be particularly impacted should a significant number of elderly residents occupy the
new residences.

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While the need for additional fire-rescue facilities within the Twinbrook area is unlikely to increase during the
next twenty years, the stations serving the area have no further capacity for additional vehicles and may
require renovation/expansion should new services (e.g., a third EMS unit at Station 23) be added.

 Support the expansion of EMS capabilities at Rockville Volunteer Fire Department Station 23.

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