Fitness First remains open on Wisconsin Avenue, but 7900 is vacant with a blank lobby directory.
It is unclear if this is a step towards placement of construction fencing, or to what extent the Wisconsin Avenue sidewalk will be impacted by the demolition and construction ahead. The cones are greatly reducing the sidewalk right-of-way. With the newspaper boxes in place, the open width does not appear to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act requirements. Even walkers were having difficulty passing each other on the sidewalk Tuesday evening. Adjustments should be made to address this.
One other trivial point - the cones are labeled for Aldon Management, which operates several buildings in the Battery Lane area of Bethesda, including the venerable 8200 apartment tower on Wisconsin.
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| You can see how much of the sidewalk is taken up by the cones and newspaper boxes; not very pedestrian or ADA-friendly |
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| Now-vacant lobby of 7900 |
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| When all else fails, duct tape is the answer |
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| Aldon Management is a hometown company |
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| The lights are on, but nobody's home |
8 comments:
I live down the street from this building. Hopefully JBG will let residents know whats going on here.
The cones are creating a pedestrian
Traffic jam with the gym entrance right there
It's not just this block. The last few days there have been several spots between here and Bethesda Ave where work crews are completely blocking the sidewalk, often with no clear notice far enough away that pedestrians can cross the street safely.
The result is that many are just walking along the curb, or inside the blocked off area where the crews are working.
It's almost best to just forget about the west side of Wisconsin from Cordell to Bethesda Ave (at least), crossing back only when you reach your end destination.
It was all gone this morning.
Do they need to get a waiver to close half the sidewalk like that? It was that way for two days this week.
The International Building Code, adopted by most jurisdictions, regulated by the International Code Council ICC, under the Department of Justuce, is articulated as a set of rules by the ADA, and requires a 5'-0" wide clear and level passage for permanent construction of a public sidewalk. Of course during construction, sometimes this is impractable, unsafe, or even impossible to achieve, especially when entire sidewalks get replaced. Building officials are charged to inspect and enforce the building code, but construction sites are allowed some leaway Involving the methods and means to build a project.
Of course a good contractor should do as much as they can to create safe passage during construction, but in some respects, sometimes you need to break a few eggs to make an omelette.
Ultimately the ADA allows individuals to utilize the court system to sue for damages and/or require compliance. Often, the harmed party is not inclined enough to seek legal measures to require compliance if a violation is present. This is even less evident during construction phases, and in most cases, is not clearly a permanent violation of the code, and in fact is the best effort to bring non- compliant projects up to meet current standards, and is often applauded by the court system. Most building departments are quite wary of trying to enforce ADA regulations, often relying on the court system. Normal building code enforcement is much more straiightfoward and enforced by the withholding of certificates of occupancy.
But isn't this a perfectly functional, reusable building, like White Flint Mall?
Our wives are perfectly functional and reusable but a new shiny model sounds appealing.
The cones were probably left from a few years ago when Aldon Management managed 7900 Wisconsin Avenue and the adjacent parking lot. JBG has been managing the property for the past 5+ years
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