The Kenwood neighborhood in Bethesda, one of the local prime viewing spots for cherry blossoms, is preparing for thousands of visitors as the iconic blooms are expected to be at their peak this weekend.
This year, the Kenwood Citizens Association is taking an additional step to help visitors feel welcome: placing humorous signs among the pink “no parking” signs posted on the neighborhood’s streets.
“As a gag, we’ve sprinkled in some new signs to just make it fun,” David Barron, a member of the Kenwood Citizens Association, told Bethesda Today this week. “One is ‘lemonade tax now,’ because all the kids do their lemonade stands, and then the other one I have is ‘Rosé All Day’ with a picture of a wine glass … and some say ‘no barking’ instead of ‘no parking.’ ”
Barron said he looks forward to people enjoying the community’s canopy of pink blossoms. He said peak bloom for the trees will be this weekend into early next week, which aligns with the National Park Service’s projections that the peak for Washington, D.C.’s cherry trees is from Friday to Monday.
The neighborhood has around 1,200 Yoshino cherry trees, and in previous years, residents have seen thousands of visitors walking and driving through the neighborhood during peak bloom.
“These trees belong to all of us, and we want people to come and enjoy them,” Barron said. “It’s a beautiful thing for the county.”
However, there are logistics the community considers to deal with the expected traffic, Barron said. About 15 years ago, the citizens association decided to post “no parking signs” after emergency responders could not get through to the home of a resident with a medical issue due to cars blocking the streets.
The association hired off-duty Montgomery County police officers to direct traffic and put up yellow and black “no parking” signs provided by police to help keep traffic moving throughout the neighborhood.
“The problem was that it looked like we didn’t want people there,” which wasn’t true, Barron said.
He said the community is very proud of the trees and wants people to come and enjoy them. A community team works with the county, specifically arborist Jack Pond, to maintain the extensive tree canopy to “make sure it’s beautiful,” he said.
To welcome visitors, he said he changed the “no parking” signs to a bright pink color to match the blossoms a few years ago and decided to add some welcome signs in as well. This year, he’s posted the humorous signs between the “no parking” ones.
His advice for those planning to visit? Keep driving around until you find places without posted signs.
Parking can be found in the northern part of the community, he said, noting that some people park at the Fourth Presbyterian Church at 5500 River Road, which is less than a mile away. Also, the Westbard Square shopping center at 5400 Westbard Ave. is nearby, he said.
