Silver Spring sits just across the line from Washington, D.C., in southeastern Montgomery County. The Capital Beltway, I-495, cuts across the north side of downtown, and its interchanges at Georgia Avenue, Colesville Road and University Boulevard are some of the busiest in the region. Georgia Avenue runs north-south through the middle of town toward Wheaton and Olney, and Colesville Road carries US 29 north toward White Oak and Columbia. The Intercounty Connector, a toll road, crosses the northern part of the county toward Gaithersburg and Laurel.
Downtown Silver Spring is dense, with high-rise apartments, office buildings and county parking garages around the intersection of Georgia Avenue and Colesville Road. East-West Highway, 16th Street and University Boulevard carry much of the crosstown traffic, and Sligo Creek Parkway winds through the neighborhoods along the creek. The Beltway and Georgia Avenue back up every rush hour. Outside downtown, older neighborhoods like Woodside, Indian Spring and Four Corners have single-family homes, driveways and quiet streets. Downtown parking is mostly county garages with time limits, and many nearby residential streets are permit-only.
The Metro Red Line stops at Silver Spring, Forest Glen and Wheaton, and the Silver Spring Transit Center connects Metro, MARC and buses. Ride On buses cover the county. Plenty of people commute by train and leave a car parked at home or at a station, so a repair that comes to the car is a real time saver. Holy Cross Hospital and the Montgomery College campus near Takoma Park also draw steady traffic and keep their parking areas busy.