Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Metro closed - now what?

The failure of all three levels of government to hold WMATA accountable, and years of incompetent leadership within that transit agency, have culminated in a full shutdown of the Metro subway system today. That closure began at 12:00 AM this morning. While the public has been told the shutdown will last 24 hours (technically not true, as Metro doesn't operate overnight), there are indications it could last even longer if serious safety issues are found during the inspection of the system's power cables.

Here's the latest as of this hour:

Federal workers have the option of unscheduled leave or teleworking today. It will be interesting to see if the loss of Metro will mean carmageddon, or great driving conditions like we experienced during the Pope's visit.

Driving and Metrobus are the best options this morning. Metrobus and Ride On Bus are both operating on regular schedule this morning.

MARC commuter rail is a legitimate option, with stations in Rockville, Gaithersburg and Kensington. The train can take you into Union Station in the District, where you can connect to other transit options.

Been meaning to try biking to work? This could be the day. Search #WMATABikePool on social media to find fellow riders to make the trip safer. An extra hour of daylight should help tonight.

Capital Bikeshare is offering 24-hour memberships today.

Uber will cap surge pricing in the Washington area at 3.9 times base fares today only. Lyft is offering new users $20 off their first ride during the shutdown.

This is another lesson today - we have to finish our master plan highway system. And we simply must do our homework, vote smarter, and start electing the right people who can get the job done. The results so far speak for themselves.

96 comments:

Anonymous said...

Will more roads really help? What's the matter highway system entail?

Anonymous said...

That 1960s "Master Plan of Highways" included extending Little Falls Parkway, as a four-lane divided highway, all the way to Clara Barton Parkway. Do you support that?

And do you support building the "Northern Parkway", which would require the demolition of hundreds of homes in Silver Spring, and building a six-lane highway through the middle of Wheaton Regional Park?

Anonymous said...

So, if you had been elected in 2014 and or 2010, what would you have done differently than those officials who were actually elected by the people of Montgomery County, the state of Maryland, or the United States, or who were appointed to serve by those elected officials/

20-20 hindsight is not "leadership". It is pathetic whining.

Anonymous said...

Are you seriously for the master highway plan, Dyer? That's such amazing backward thinking...I don't even know what to say. What makes this area great is that we aren't a crossroads town like Atlanta.

Robert Dyer said...

2:37: The Northern Parkway would not be six lanes, and it would require zero demolition of homes. I believe you're thinking of the Georgia Avenue BRT, which would demolish 155+ homes and businesses between Olney and Silver Spring.

I do support building the Northern Parkway. I'm not sure the Little Falls Parkway extension would make sense without the Palisades Freeway. There was supposed to be a freeway parallel to the Potomac which would connect to the LF Parkway segment.

2:11: Yes, they will help. The master plan highways include the Rockville Freeway, Northern Parkway, Midcounty Highway Extended (M-83), Outer Beltway, I-95 through DC, the Northwest Freeway connecting I-270/I-495 to I-66, and North Central Freeway. The District and Montgomery County have illegally allowed development within the rights-of-way of the last three of those.

Robert Dyer said...

4:43: How is it backward thinking when your way has completely failed? We haven't built out the full freeway system, and - duh! - we have terrible traffic congestion, the worst in the nation. Why would we double down on failure?

4:42: Failure isn't leadership, either. I was very clear about what I would have done - prioritize construction of a new Potomac River crossing, Midcounty Highway Extended, and the Rockville Freeway/Montrose Parkway all the way to the ICC.

Anonymous said...

Anyone know where I can read or view the Little Falls Pkwy to Clara Barton Pkwy drawings/proposed extension?

Anonymous said...

Bethesda residents are already accustomed to our Metro station being closed for hours on a regular basis.

This is just more of the same.

Anonymous said...

The part of the proposed, now-withdrawn Northern Parkway between Sligo Creek Parkway and 16th Street most definitely would have required the demolition of several hundred homes.

"I'm not sure the Little Falls Parkway extension would make sense without the Palisades Freeway."

Ha ha... "Build all the highways that were in the 1960s Master Plan - except the one that goes through my community." Dyer's NIMBY bias overrides any need for consistency, on yet another talking point.

"The District and Montgomery County have illegally allowed development within the rights-of-way of the last three of those."

LOL, you've been hanging out with Douglas Willinger again, haven't you? There is no "right of way" for those freeways that were never built, and which were withdrawn from consideration over four decades ago.

Anonymous said...

Why is Dyer trying to cover up the deficiencies in his coverage, as compared to that of Bethesda's news site of record?

G. Money said...

4:42 - yes, you were clear about what you would do, and that's why you weren't elected. The people of Montgomery County are smarter than to think that a half-century old highway plan is appropriate for the modern era.

Unfortunately, years of Metro mismanagement that ignored infrastructure maintenance has led us to situations like today. Frankly, the same can be said of a lot of our public infrastructure. But simply building more infrastructure and generating more future costs won't help if we aren't willing to spend the money to do maintenance. Further, it makes more sense to increase density and encourage people to live closer to their work/etc., rather than continue to hype a suburban model of living that is environmentally and economically unsound.

Robert Dyer said...

5:40: No, I wasn't elected because the media didn't cover the election, the MoCo political cartel controls the few entities that give out all the endorsements, and too many voters were low-information voters who didn't do their homework before voting.

I agree with most of your second point, and that's why we need to locate more high-paying jobs in the County, and stop demolishing office buildings for more housing. Smart growth doesn't work without the jobs.

5:39: There was no "deficiency in coverage" - in fact, your favorite site reported on the Lyft deal hours after I did. *Beep* *Beep* There's goes the microwave again. It's even better reheated hours later! Baba Booey!

Robert Dyer said...

5:09: I wouldn't oppose building it. I just said it wouldn't make a whole lot of sense without the other pieces, kind of like ending Montrose Parkway at Veirs Mill.

There are rights-of-way. They would have all been built on by now, otherwise. County gets control, such as all of those postage stamp parks, garages, etc. that are east of Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Bethesda. That was the right-of-way. There's still right--of-way between Walter Reed and the Beltway past Cedar Lane. Nothing in the way on that stretch.

It was just a disastrous series of planning decisions back in the 1970s.

Anonymous said...

More roads are never the answer.

Robert Dyer said...

5:02: I'd like to see it myself! The only map I've found was a very crude, mostly unmarked one showing the Palisades Freeway extending west from the Whitehurst Freeway, and then turning upward where Little Falls Stream Valley Park is. The park actually was created as a highway facility, which is why the ncpc had to sign off when the County sold a chunk of it to EYA.

Robert Dyer said...

6:30: How so?

Anonymous said...

"I wasn't elected because the media didn't cover the election, the MoCo political cartel controls the few entities that give out all the endorsements, and too many voters were low-information voters who didn't do their homework before voting."

LOL

Anonymous said...

We definitely need another Potomac crossing, and it is in the master plan but the politicians have been unwilling to consider it. In fact, VA already has their bit (the highways that would link up to make an outer beltway) done. It's VA-28 and VA-268 (Fairfax County Parkway).

I blame Riemer's failed nighttime economy initiative.

Anonymous said...

The Metro debacle is a fault of our local governments. Each local gov't appoints members to the WMATA board. They've been appointing yes-men who just kicked the "maintenance" can down the road, knowing they'd be gone before it came up. Kudos to the new manager for making the difficult choices, and cleaning up the mess.

Reminds me of MWAA (airports authority). Same deal -- nepotism and bunch of yes-men on the board. That's why Dulles is seeing large declines in passenger numbers. A few years ago it used to be Dulles, National, BWI in order of passenger numbers. Now it's BWI, National, Dulles.

MWAA made poor investment decisions when doing the Dulles expansion, meaning the landing fees at Dulles are much higher than at National. So, National ends up overcrowded, and Dulles ends up relatively empty. Guess what -- MWAA controls both airports, and can easily solve the landing fee problem by shifting some to National.. but they are not willing to make the difficult decisions on this.

Anonymous said...

"There's still right--of-way between Walter Reed and the Beltway past Cedar Lane. Nothing in the way on that stretch."

Jeez, Dyer, the proposal to extend I-270 (then 70-S) south along the Rockville Pike/Wisconsin Avenue corridor was withdrawn over a decade before the later proposal for the "North Central Freeway" along the railroad tracks.

There is no "right-of-way" for such a freeway "north of Walter Reed". You're seriously stuck in Fantasyland. Building this freeway all the way into downtown DC would require the taking of not just hundreds but thousands of buildings, and cost tens of billions of dollars.

Anonymous said...

Now is not the time to be thinking of how to cope. A real progressive has contingency plans in place already for this sort of thing. We started leasing a Nissan Leaf for our domestic 3 years ago so that she can reliably make it to the house without having to use Metro. Today feels just like any other day in our household.

Anonymous said...

"A few years ago it used to be Dulles, National, BWI in order of passenger numbers. Now it's BWI, National, Dulles."

Thank you, Maryland Machine! Now remind us why we need to build a bridge above Great Falls so that Bethesdians can commute to moribund Dulles?

Robert Dyer said...

6:53: Yes there is, and you can easily see it on Google Maps. There's a road with no development around it that dead-ends at the Beltway.

I already explained that the Northwest Freeway right-of-way has been blocked. It would have to have extensive tunneling, which would be prohibitively expensive. That's why - duh! - it wasn't on my high priority list.

Anonymous said...

So since your commentor posted this before you in the other thread and other news sources reported it first, in your own definition you stole this news and didn't credit them?

Robert Dyer said...

7:06: Uh, because it has the greater number and frequency of flights to important destinations like the Middle East and Asia, which international businesspeople demand. And one of the major reasons no major corporation has moved here in over a decade.

Anonymous said...

I'm looking at Google Maps right now. Where is this "road that dead-ends at the Beltway"? LOL @ Dyer the Birdbrain.

Robert Dyer said...

7:06: No clue what you're talking about. There was a major announcement about Metro closing. That's not a scoop, just a press release. A "stolen" story is when I report something that has no mass announcement, that would otherwise not have come to the attention of the public or other reporters without my story.

Anonymous said...

If only there was some sort of bus rapid transit system.

Robert Dyer said...

7:10: Elmhirst off Cedar Lane, I believe.

Anonymous said...

"Elmhirst off Cedar Lane, I believe."

That's funny, you said it with such certainty @ 7:06 AM.

If that freeway were routed along Elmhirst, connecting between I-270 and MD 355, that would create one heck of an awkward dog-leg, and be the site of daily traffic jams if it were actually built that way.

Also, Stone Ridge would be right in the path of this road.

Anonymous said...

So is a mass announcement the only way it's not a theft from your site?

Anonymous said...

How did Dyer find out about Lyft's deal? Maybe he stole the information from someone else.

Anonymous said...

Elmhirst Parkway. I am saying with certainty.
Maybe what's needed is a Beltway exit specifically for Walter Reed/NIH.

Anonymous said...

Did Dyer go to work today?

Anonymous said...

:How did Dyer find out about Lyft's deal? Maybe he stole the information from someone else."

We know one place he didn't get it from. Don't see any mention of Lyft.

Anonymous said...

8:19AM - Don't know about Dyer, but I didn't. Did you?

Anonymous said...

@ 8:30 AM - 8:19 AM here. Yes, I did. What do you think I am, some kind of hypocrite?

Anonymous said...

Reimer still against Uber? :)

Anonymous said...

Considering how well the area handled the absence of the subway today, this indicates that Westbard will handle smart growth just fine, even if it is twice the ideal walking distance from a Metro station.

Robert Dyer said...

7:23: I am certain about the road, trust me. Knowing for sure I had the right name without the map in front of me is another story. As you confirmed, I was correct.

Right-of-way intact.

Anonymous said...

@ 5:38 PM - Perhaps you could furnish a quote from Riemer indicating that he is actually "against Uber"?

Robert Dyer said...

8:18: Believe it or not, there is one that they ended up burying. Look on Google Maps where it says Perimeter Road on the Walter Reed campus and you can see traces of where it is.

But the feds didn't want to use it, so taxpayers ended up footing the bill to widen Connecticut Avenue a couple years ago.

Anonymous said...

You know it's Equity One's PR firm posting when they try to make the case that new Westbard residents will walk an hour to Friendship Heights Metro in the morning and an hour back every night.

Robert Dyer said...

6:11: How so? Several thousand new cars on an already-jammed road will work "Just fine"? Whatever you're smoking, George Leventhal wants to legalize it.

Anonymous said...

Roads were pretty good yesterday. All things considered.

Anonymous said...

I am not really interested in the road or issue at hand, but trust you in general certainly not. No thanks.

Anonymous said...

I don't disbelieve you here. But can you detail how a road might work? Where would it go? Through whose property and what would be the cost to get that land? What would total costs be? What's the estimated economic impact and return? What's the likelihood of the Fortune 500 company headquarters you place a lot of value in (not necessarily in rightfully so) moving to MD because of it? What would incentives need to be and at what cost? Any details other than just to build a bridge? Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Do you have any supporting evidence or information to highlight why you think these roads would help?

Anonymous said...

Isn't there a ton of evidence suggesting highways don't necessarily help traffic and congestion? Induced demand and what not?

Anonymous said...

Dyer @ 6:12 PM & 6:16 PM -

If you actually had a map in front of you (and were capable of reading it), you would notice that Elmhirst Parkway and Perimeter Road (Walter Reed campus) go in completely different directions and there is no possible route connecting I-270 with downtown Bethesda that could use both of these at the same time.

Also, I notice that you, like Douglas Willinger, seem to think that any random piece of vacant land that happens coincide with the desire line of a road that some planner dreamed up 60 years ago, magically has become "right-of-way". It's not. That's not what that word actually means.

Robert Dyer said...

12:08: There has never been a case of induced demand in the DC area. I've never seen any convincing data to back up the theory anywhere.

12:28: I never said they were supposed to connect. The off-ramp near perimeter road is a direct access for Walter Reed; it's not supposed to be a freeway.

Elmhirst is the one that would carry traffic into downtown Bethesda.

These highway facilities aren't "random pieces" - they were in master plans since the 1950s.

Anonymous said...

Didn't someone write about i270 reaching ride estimates really early and causing people to move further out into the suburbs?

Anonymous said...

Why does Dyer talk about the 1950s Master Plan for Highways like it's the Bible or something? The freeways were withdrawn by popular demand, no later than 1973, and subsequent Master Plans omitted them. The proposal to route what is now I-270 (then called I-70-S) was withdrawn at least a decade earlier than that. Things change.

Someone mentioned "nostalgia" in the previous thread. The Greeks, who coined that word, saw it as a mild form of mental illness.

Iluvmd said...

Mr. Robert Dyer,

Something to think about:

Do you find it very strange that a lot of the "Anonymous" commentators on here sound like the same characters from that Greater Greater Washington website.

That further questions the validation of the "Anonymous" commentators on here that constantly attact your valid views about Montgomery County/Maryland Suburbs which could be the posibility that they may not be true Maryland tax payers but Northern Virginia tax payers pretending to be from Maryland. Case in point look at the comments from most of the "Anonymous" disrespectful comments in the Marriott/Montgomery County Office shrinkage topics, the Bethesda late night bars/lounge closing topics, and the Maryland highway topics like this one.

These "Anonymous" characters that are attacking your views on Montgomery County/Maryland suburbs are doing so because they Hate the thaught of Suburban Maryland doing better than their Grass is Greener Enclave of Northern Virginia which is why they support companies like the Marriott to move out of Bethesda because they are expecting that they will move to Virginia possibly near the Hilton HQ. In long run they want all the Office, Upscale retail, and Entertainment to be in Northern Virginia while Suburban Maryland becomes a deserted 3rd world has been region looking almost like the run down parts of the Baltimore area.

The major issue that plagues Suburban Maryland is that the true tax payers do not exercise their rights to vote against the current politicians the secretly work with Northern Virhinia to keep Business from growing in Suburban Maryland. That is why the politicians like the county council and executive fo not support highway growth in Suburban Maryland but will support suckering the true tax payers into supporting useless traffic instigating transit projects like the purple line and BRT lines that will steal existing travel lanes along busy roads in Montgomery. County knowing that it will not encorage increase transit usage but chase away Businesses and more than likely reduce population growth in Suburban Maryland due to severe traffic and they hope that it will be the recipe that will get the middle and upper class Suburban Maryland tax payers to relocate to Business freindly Northern Virginia that have long term goals of building/widening Highways and expanding Business growth.

Anonymous said...

"The off-ramp near perimeter road is a direct access for Walter Reed; it's not supposed to be a freeway."

I think you meant to say "would be", rather than "is", since this ramp does not actually exist.

"Didn't someone write about I-270 reaching ride estimates really early?"

Expanded from the original 4 lanes to 6 lanes in the mid-1970s and then expanded again to 12 lanes in the late 1980s, and fully congested again barely a decade later. But I'm sure that the planners in the 1950s envisioned it as a commuting route for folks living in Frederick and Washington Counties, and even Pennsylvania, didn't they?

Anonymous said...

"Disrespectful comments [regarding] Montgomery office shrinkage"

What does this mean? How is it "disrespectful" to point out that it is only in areas that are far from Metro stations that there are any problems with high office vacancy rates? And that NoVa has far worse problems regarding office vacancy rates? The office parks in Rockledge, at the north end of Executive Boulevard, and on I-270 north of Gaithersburg are obsolete as they exist now. The others along both sides of the Red Line are thriving. That's a simple fact.

"they support companies like the Marriott to move out of Bethesda"

I can't speak for all, but most appear to be rooting for Marriott to relocate next to the White Flint Metro station. I believe that's called "Bethesda" nowadays. And it's certainly in Montgomery County.

"the Bethesda late night bars/lounge closing topics"

How many new night spots have opened in Northern Virginia since 2010? And have you been following all the closures in DC during the same period?

"a deserted 3rd world has been region looking almost like the run down parts of the Baltimore area."

You just described River Road through Westbard as it currently exists. Yet you want it to stay that way.

Regarding your comments on highways versus transit, you are a-priori pro-highway construction and anti-transit, so there is not really much use in engaging in discussion with you on that topic.

Anonymous said...

"a lot of the 'Anonymous' commentators"

Oh, and I suppose that your birth certificate and driver's license say "Iluvmnd'?

Anonymous said...

@Iluvmd

Wow. There's actually someone here with crazier and more outlandish theories/opinions than Mr. Dyer.

Anonymous said...

@ 7:45 AM - I believe that this is another kindred spirit of Dyer, another "local blogger" with an insane infatuation with freeways that were never built and never will be:

http://wwwtripwithinthebeltway.blogspot.com/

By the same author:

http://www.continuingcounterreformation.blogspot.com/



Iluvmd said...

Wow I see some possible NoVA "Anonymous" characters are in their feelings because they cant accept that someone is catching on to the BS.

Anonymous said...

What exactly does it mean to "be in one's feelings"?

Crazy people invent language as they go along.

Or did you a word out?

Anonymous said...

8:23 I like what you did there.

Anonymous said...

Haha. Excellent point!

Anonymous said...

What does "in their feelings" mean?

I live in Weatbard.

Iluvmd said...

Not only there are possible NoVA "Anonymous" comentators but also some of them are not Hip Hop savy. LOL!!!!!!

Robert Dyer said...

3:57: I always say that the economic development board for Northern Virginia is....the Montgomery County Council. You couldn't hire a committee that could drive business to you in Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William better than these 9 Montgomery County officials.

Robert Dyer said...

8:07: If Mr. Willinger were head of MCDOT, maybe we'd actually have a growing economy in Montgomery County. Maybe the professional talent we have in MCDOT would finally be allowed to do their jobs, unlike today where best practices are second to political pressure from the top down.

Robert Dyer said...

12:00: Actually, we found out Metro doesn't provide as much congestion relief as we've been told over the years. So relying on transit - and there's no Metro at Westbard - to offset unlimited growth would be a complete disaster.

Robert Dyer said...

6:57: There was a story in the Examiner a few years ago that stated at least part of the off-ramp was built, and then buried.

You seem to forget a number of things about I-270 - It was supposed to go into the District, there was supposed to be at least one other Potomac River crossing along it, it was assumed the M-83 highway and Watkins Mill interchange would be built, and that the latter would occur BEFORE the County Council approval of 800% growth in Clarksburg, and 300% growth in Damascus.

Hardly "induced demand", just a developer-controlled County Council.

Robert Dyer said...

7:14: Baloney - a high-rise office building a few blocks from Wheaton Metro was just torn down for housing. Terrible office market at Metro there. Bethesda can't attract a single major corporate headquarters either in over a decade.

Anonymous said...

There is no "high-rise office building" that has been torn down near the Wheaton Metro. I suspect that you are referring to the Equitable Bank Building, which was 7 stories. 7 stories is "mid-rise", not "high-rise". (Unless you live in Westbard, where a 3-story building constitutes a "concrete canyon".) And the office space that was lost at that site will be more than made up in the larger office buildings that are being built closer to the Wheaton Metro station.

But do keep trying, Dyer.

Anonymous said...

"There was a story in the Examiner a few years ago..."

The Examiner. LOL

Anonymous said...

@ 7:45 PM - I agree that development in Clarksburg and Damascus was dumb. That's why development in a close-in area like Westbard is much smarter.

Anonymous said...

@ 3:57 PM - I love it when pasty-white suburbanites, who hit the "LOCK" button the moment they see any minority coming near their car, brag about their "hip-hop sav[v]y-ness".

Anonymous said...

@ 7:45 PM:

"You seem to forget a number of things about I-270 - It was supposed to go into the District, there was supposed to be at least one other Potomac River crossing along it, it was assumed the M-83 highway and Watkins Mill interchange would be built"

How do any of these things relate to induced demand on I-270?

Do you really think that there would be LESS traffic on I-270 if it had been built all the way into the District? Or if the Watkins Mill interchange had been built? Or if another Potomac River crossing had been built?

Do you ever actually think before you start typing, Dyer?

Iluvmd said...

@ 9:23 PM , I just love it when smart a-- left wing extremist cacs attack a commentator's spelling online when ever they(smart a-- left wing extremist cacs) do not agree with another person's comments.

Iluvmd said...

@ 9:31 PM The springfield interchange was one of the worst interchanges in the US of A back in the 1990's, now they have expanded I-395/95/495 and the springfield interchange is not anywhere near on the highest list of traffic bottlenecks however the I-95/495 and I-270/495 interchanges in Suburban Maryland are still within one of the highest number of traffic bottlenecks.

Anonymous said...

Bethesda is the most educated and enlightened city in the country. Not exactly a bastion of racism and bigotry.

Robert Dyer said...

9:31: Yes, I do believe I-270 would be less congested if those other pieces were in place. All of those escape valves that send people off where they are really headed - instead of taking I-270 from Germantown to the Beltway to Dulles, for example - would prevent everyone from being stuck in one long corridor. 95 through DC would reduce east coast traffic currently forced around our Beltway instead.

Yes, I do think before typing.

Robert Dyer said...

9:11: Your comment earns a Pants on Fire fact check rating. The Wheaton office market is right at Metro, and still in the toilet. The only office building even on the horizon is a Montgomery County Government office building.

Anonymous said...

Isn't Wheaton also a Greenhill property heavy area?

Anonymous said...

"The Wheaton office market"

Lol. Please list one Class A office building in Wheaton. There has never been a "Wheaton office market." The CBD for east county is downtown Silver Spring.

Wheaton is a commercial retail district, that is rapidly growing into a more mixed-use destination with many new quality residential and retail options. A far cry from its run-down state just a decade or two ago. If there is a "moribund economy," it's not in Wheaton.

Iluvmd said...

Bethesda does not represent All of Montgomery County and it definitely does not represent the mentality of the people that are from NoVA or DC(transplants).

Anonymous said...

Dyer 5:08 AM - Why do you think that routing I-95 through downtown DC, and adding Maine-to-Florida traffic along the Southwest Freeway and the 14th Street Bridge, would magically make it LESS congested for through traffic than the current routing along the Beltway? This is pure magical thinking. It's idiotic to route through traffic through the centers of cities.

@ 6:12 AM - Dyer seems to not know the difference between the size of a given office market and its vacancy rate. A relatively small office market with an extremely low vacancy rate is a healthy one.

Robert Dyer said...

6:12: You maybe need to get on the ground and walk around Wheaton to find the substantial amount of office space there. A more accurate statement would be to say there isn't an office market ANYMORE, thanks to the County Council promising landowners the moon back in the 80s.

Wheaton's golden age was the 1960s-early 80s, before that debacle, much like Glenmont, Aspen Hill, Long Branch, Westwood Shopping Center, etc. Amazing what incompetent, developer-beholden elected officials can (un)do.

Robert Dyer said...

7:02: How would I-95 get MORE congested if it no longer had Beltway traffic added to east coast traffic? Physics and engineering isn't "magical thinking" - but claiming your office market description applies to either Bethesda or Wheaton is.

Anonymous said...

@ 7:39 AM Oh, really, Dyer? Perhaps you could cite some actual numbers documenting this alleged decline in the Wheaton office market, e.g., square footage in year X, followed by square footage in year Y, rather than just your usual vague generalities.

"Wheaton's golden age was the 1960s-early 80s, before that debacle, much like Glenmont, Aspen Hill, Long Branch, Westwood Shopping Center, etc. Amazing what incompetent, developer-beholden elected officials can (un)do."

I don't know where to start with this steaming pile. Are you really trying to claim that everything that has (allegedly) gone wrong in those communities is attributable to specific decisions by specific elected officials?

Dyer @ 7:42 AM - "Physics and engineering isn't "magical thinking" - but claiming your office market description applies to either Bethesda or Wheaton is."

If you could translate this into English, I might be able to respond properly.

Iluvmd said...

Looks like one of the NoVA "Anonymous" clowns is talking in circles because it cant handle the fact that someone is calling out on the neglective BS of the county politicians that refuse to support Office growth in Wheaton and other parts of Silver Spring. SMDH

Anonymous said...

Like Robert Dyer?

Anonymous said...

Perhaps the thinking is flawed? Or the origination point.

Anonymous said...

@ 12:57 PM: "Neglective"

Another neologism. Perhaps you mean "neglectful"?

Iluvmd said...

@ 2:27 PM I mean "Anonymous"" Dyer critic = A trolling Maryland hating(anti-Business, anti-Highway, and anti-Anything that will bring positive Growth in Suburban Maryland with the potential of being Greater than NoVA) possible NoVA tax payer...

Anonymous said...

I have to give Dyer's regular shill credit - at least he can type coherent sentences, unlike this new guy here.

Anonymous said...

@ 2:49 PM - Given that the people of Montgomery County have rejected Robert Dyer the Virginian infiltrator, not just once, but twice, your support of him makes you anti-Montgomery County and anti-Maryland.

Robert Dyer said...

4:33: A carpetbagger calling a lifelong Bethesda resident an "infiltrator" shows you are still "Dumass material all the way."

You know who else agrees with Robert Dyer about the need for a new Potomac River crossing? The head of MoCo's new economic development corporation.

With a media blackout on almost every debate in 2010 and 2014 and a high number of low-information voters, the election results weren't surprising. Congratulations on your corrupt MoCo political cartel.

Iluvmd said...

@ 4:33 PM Spoken like a trure Virginia tax paying good ol' boy.....