Photo by Cambridge Brewing Co. on Flickr.

The federal government may be closed, but this week you can still talk about the future of Franklin Park, celebrate walkable urbanism with the Coalition for Smarter Growth and author Jeff Speck, and explore Bus Rapid Transit on Rockville Pike at events across the region.

Join us for happy hour: Tonight, join GGW contributors and readers for the latest installment of our regular happy hour series in Arlington. From 6 to 9pm, we’ll be at Fire Works Pizza at 2350 Clarendon Boulevard, just two blocks from the Court House Metro station. As our commenters duly noted, they’re running happy hour specials until 6:30pm.

Party with CSG: Tomorrow night, the Coalition for Smarter Growth hosts Jeff Speck, author of Walkable City, at its annual social and fundraiser. The event will feature refreshments and runs from 6:30 to 8:30pm at Eastern Market. Tickets are only $25 and proceeds will help CSG continue their work to strengthen walkable and inclusive communities in our region. To learn more or RSVP, visit their website.

Franklin Park’s new future: [Note: Due to the shutdown, this event has been postponed until further notice.] Also tomorrow, the DC Office of Planning and its Franklin Park partners will hold a kick-off public presentation and open house about how to turn Franklin Park into one of the country’s premier urban parks. Come share your ideas for how to improve and enhance the visitor experience of the park. Attendees will hear a project overview and an initial site analysis and conditions report. The project team also will hold a visioning and programming workshop to gain a deeper understanding of desired park uses and current issues.

The meeting will be from 6 to 8pm at the Four Points by Sheraton at 1201 K Street NW. You can RSVP at the project’s website.

Talk about BRT on 355: Do you live, work, or travel along Route 355, also known as Wisconsin Avenue and Rockville Pike? Join CSG, Communities for Transit, and other local organizations hosting an educational event for residents and business owners along 355 between Friendship Heights and Clarksburg. Speakers will include Montgomery County Planning Board member Casey Anderson, county planner Larry Cole, and Chuck Lattuca, BRT system manager at the Montgomery County Department of Transportation.

With 44,000 projected riders by 2040, a BRT line along 355 is likely to move forward early on in the development of Montgomery’s rapid transit network. The event will take place on Thursday, October 3 from 6 to 9pm in the cafeteria of the Executive Office Building at 101 Monroe Street in Rockville. Click here to RSVP or for more information.

Update on the Purple Line: Next week, the Action Committee for Transit hosts Mike Madden of the Maryland Transit Administration for the latest news on the Purple Line at its monthly meeting. Governor Martin O’Malley recently announced that the state will seek a public-private partnership to build and operate the line, which could start construction as early as 2015 if it gets federal approval this fall.

The meeting will be at 7:30pm on Tuesday, October 8 at the Silver Spring Civic Building, located at the corner of Ellsworth Drive and Fenton Street, just a few blocks from the Silver Spring Metro. For more info, visit ACT’s website.