Bethesda

Montgomery Parks(opens in a new tab), is closing Caroline Freeland Urban Park(opens in a new tab) in downtown Bethesda for renovations, beginning in early June 2023.   The one-acre park sits at 7200 Arlington Road, between Hampden Lane and Elm Street.  It will be closed for the remainder of this year.

Once completed, the renovated park will feature a new central lawn and a large seating terrace. Accessible pathways will provide easy access to new amenities, including a larger playground, bench swings, and bicycle parking.  The lighting and the entire streetscape fronting the park will be improved, including a new entry plaza. Hampden Lane will be renovated into a more pedestrian-oriented plaza, while maintaining required emergency vehicle access through the park.

Montgomery Parks will hold an online meeting on June 14, 2023, from 7:00- 8:30 p.m. to unveil a recommended plan for the future Bethesda Market Park. This will be the third public meeting about the Bethesda Market Park project. In March, Parks staff held two in-person meetings to gather input from community members about what amenities they would like to see in the park.  The public was also encouraged to submit ideas through an online survey.

Parks staff incorporated the ideas from the meetings and the survey in the proposed plan. “We received a lot of great suggestions via our engagement efforts, everything from a stage to a dog park, swings, game area and open spaces,” said Mike Riley, director of Montgomery Parks. “Community input is such an important part of the process because it helps us design better parks with amenities and features that serve a wide range of interests.”

Bethesda Elementary School students try their hands at becoming park designers: Montgomery Parks, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, is in the planning phase for a future park in Bethesda, the Bethesda Market Park, and is turning to the next generation for ideas. The department challenged students at Bethesda Elementary School to draw the park of their dreams and a handful of fourth-graders jumped at the chance. “We wanted to find out what the community wanted in this new park, so we asked a group of experts – local fourth graders,” said Mike Riley, director of Montgomery Parks. “This new park is a very big deal – it’s not every day we can create a brand-new park in a busy downtown location like Bethesda. We are thrilled that students want to be part of the brainstorming.”

 The future designers came up with a lot of ideas ranging from exciting features like trampolines, zip lines, and obstacle courses to natural features like a place to watch birds, tree-lined walkways, rock walls, and flower beds. And lest we forget the cat statue mister. See the kids’ drawings on Montgomery Parks Flickr page. “Fourth graders were thrilled to have the opportunity to share their ideas for the new Bethesda Market Park. They eagerly put their creativity to work and collaborated to sketch some wonderful designs. A big thank you to the Montgomery Parks Department for letting us be a part of this exciting new addition to downtown Bethesda!”