Developer JBG Smith has hoped to acquire Reed Street to create a narrow public space alongside its future 4747 Bethesda Avenue development. Montgomery County would have to abandon the Reed Street right-of-way to allow this, in a spot where ambitious public plaza aspirations and Purple Line tail track infrastructure may conflict with JBG's plan. Now, County planners are recommending the Planning Board deny the County's request to abandon the street.
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Reed Street right-of-way
is in blue |
JBG Smith had previously sought abandonment of Reed Street in 2007, and it was granted. However, planners say JBG failed to record the plat within the required five-year period, and the abandonment was revoked by the County. Since then, the County signed an agreement for the Purple Line that includes the Reed Street right-of-way.
In addition, the County Council recently passed the Bethesda Downtown master plan, which recommends the underused plaza there be revitalized into "a major central gathering space." And Reed Street also carries the Capital Crescent Trail. For all of these reasons, planning staff is recommending denial of the abandonment, arguing the right-of-way will be needed for all of these public uses. The Board will take up the matter at its October 12 meeting next Thursday.
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Old map showing Reed Street
(in yellow) within the
CSX railroad right-of-way
(now the Capital Crescent Trail) |
What's really going on here: This is another marker being placed down for the "secret" plan to extend the Purple Line to Westbard and Sumner Place in the future. Tail tracks for the Purple Line will not run all the way out alongside JBG's two-story retail building. The "Capital Crescent Trail" right-of-way, which the staff report notes extends to Georgetown, is also the future Purple Line right-of-way, as Chevy Chase residents and Georgetown Branch Trail users have discovered. But Montgomery County's plan for Ourisman Honda is at cross purposes with this Purple Line extension, as there will not be enough room for two tracks and the CCT between the dealership's garage and the Flats at Bethesda Avenue apartment complex.
27 comments:
this resident is all for the purple line. I like the idea of the plan.
Could the rail lines not be underground? Wouldn't this avoid a lot of the issues with Bethesda Row? Of course after the initial construction headache
Hi Robert, would you be against the idea of bringing the purple line towards westward? Wouldn’t that solve the mass transit problem there?
Why nothing on Taste of Bethesda? You wrote an article for "Taste of Burtonsville" and that is what - two restaurants???
This explains why Barnes & Noble is closing.
I just hope they eventually develop Westbard into an area people actually want to go. If you want to live in the 90's move to Portland. This is the 2000's people don't want to go there and its just a mess of an area.
1990s? Apart from the Whole Foods, Westbard is still stuck in the 1970s.
Robert left his tinfoil hat in the basement... The MoCo cartel does not have a secret agenda to extend the tracks to Westbard (even though those residents should be wishing for it). Why not let the damn project get built first before you continue with conspiracy theories.
7:12 AM Westbard is a residential area and not even the current neighborhood plan is going to turn it into a "destination". People want to live there, raise families there, etc. but I see no plan to turn into a destination with entertainment, an arts district, etc.
The addition of the museum on the cemetery site could add a new element and a way to explore the original sin of Westbard in a meaningful way. This could be an education destination.
Robert Dyer is the Original Sin of Westbard
If the County needs the Ourisman land back for the Purple Line extension, they will just pay Ourisman for the land that they gave away for free. Or they could just build the extension right down Leland street.
6:53: You must have missed my report on Taste of Bethesda long ago:
http://robertdyer.blogspot.com/2017/09/taste-of-bethesda-2017-will-be-october-7.html
Thank God the east county's leading news source East MoCo reported on the Taste of Burtonsville, as you noted. Good luck finding coverage of Burtonsville anywhere else!
7:16: There absolutely is a secret plan to extend the Purple Line. The only argument is where the last stop will be...Sumner Place, Georgetown or Tysons.
7:12: Westbard clearly already is a place people want to go. That's why it is fully developed and has no vacant land, and housing is among the most expensive in the area there.
7:12 AM says "I just hope they eventually develop Westbard into an area people actually want to go"
Wow..just wow. Please talk to some realtors in the area and get educated on Bethesda neighborhoods before making statements like that.
Westbard is the place to go... for cheap gas.
I've never seen Robert Dyer oppose development in Bethesda on the basis that it is "fully developed" and "has no vacant land".
7:41 AM Dyer has a pragmatic and sensible approach to development...everything that this Westbard plan isn't.
7:55 = #UnsignedDyer
Robert - do you realize the legal issues are TOTALLY DIFFERENT for the Capital Crescent trail (Bethesda to Georgetown) than they are for the Georgetown Branch (Bethesda to Silver Spring). The DC portion is actually owned by the NPS. And the MD portion of the trail was purchased under the National Trails Act of 1968. It was purchased for the very reason of a trail, and never had transportation tagged as a future use, unlike the Georgetown trail. I also read the pie in the sky idea of extending the purple line, which you keep erroneously referring to as a secret plan, and it would be fraught with legal challenges that would actually hold up in court, unlike the feeble attempts made by Ajay & co. on the Georgetown Branch. I don't think your "secret" plan would ever be realized.
It would make a lot of sense to extend the Purple Line to westward, then the NIMBY's can't complain that there isn't any transit. However, this supposedly "secret" plan is just more nonsensical conspiracy theories.
There will be an invisible station just for the Westbard Deads.
Amazing how everyone in the Westbard area is not opposed to any sort of development, but heaven forbid someone proposes changing something about Westbard, they bitch and moan. NIMBY residents for sure.
Robert why won’t you answer the question if you support mass transit to westbard?
You think Georgetown residents at going to take mass transit coming to their neighborhood just sitting down?
Why would this be used for the Purple Line? Routing any extension of the Purple Line along Reed Avenue would require three sharp turns within just a few hundred feet.
JBG should have just built on it. I'm sure DPS would have approved the plans. Then JBG could just say oops and keep the land.
7:38: It wouldn't necessarily be for the train tracks - as you know, the Purple Line is now a massively-wide project that includes the trail and a buffer. So all of that would have to be brought from the tunnel to the curb at Bethesda and Woodmont to cross to the other side of Bethesda Avenue. That's why they need the Reed Street right-of-way.
The Reed Street right of way is adjacent to the tail tracks of the Purple Line, and does not in any way block and possible future westward extension of the tracks. Of course the northwest side of the triangular plaza would indeed need to be modified to include track, but the Purple Line at many places runs at grade across plazas and streets. It is not always in a dedicated or restricted access place. Now some thought would need to occur on how the train could safely pass through this heavily used pedestrian area, including the area between the Flats of Bethesda Avenue and Oursman Honda. How both the CCT and the tracks could be organized between such a narrow spot will be quite a challenge.
If you Google light rail in Denver, you will get a god idea of the design and character of light rail as it passes through pedestrian area, city streets, and in and out of dedicated right of ways. Not really like the heavy rail of the Metro with the electrified third rail, but a bit more intense than the Realativwly short DC Street Car. These systems can be designed to run partiallly disconnected from their overhead power feed, using battery power for a percentage of their runs. This allows some grade crossings to avoid the mess of the overhead power feed, and only need the track embedded in the pavement. The train passing trough the plaza is sort of like a big, long slow moving streetcar, not unlike a very large rubber tired articulated bus. Obviolsly, pedestrian and other vehicular traffic needs to be signaled and often signal restricted when the train passes through, not unlike a typical at grade crossing for a freight, Amtrak, MARC or VRE train.
I would suggest that the CCT at this location should run diagonally across the intersection, in alignment with the east and west trial, and also be controlled with bik and pedestrian crossing signals as used in much of Europe for heavily used rail/trial and vehicular intersections. All vehicles would be signaled to stop on both Woodmont and Betheada, and allow the CCT (and possible future Purple Line train) crossing to occur, not unlike a three way intersection. Require and enforce bikes and pedestrians to cross using a green/yellow/red signal, just like a car, not a pedesrrian crosswalk signal. Enforce with cameras. These large scale signalized bike crossing are common, especially in the Netherlands, where 50% of the traffic is on bikes. With the large amount of bike traffic on the CCT, which will intensify with the improvements as part of the Purple Line, I think a more cohesive intersection design is needed to allow safe passage for people, bikes, and maybe even future light rail at this intersection.
I believe the county planning staff have recommended against the vacation of Reed Street to control the development of what is called the Capital Crescent Trail Plaza in the new design guidelines. Since JBG Smith are already underway, and nearly completed, plaza improvements that are in the Reed Street Rught of way, it looks like the county is permitting some improvements without vacation.
By the way, it appears the the tower crane for the new 15 story JBG Smith 4747 Bethesda tower may be going up today, Saturday October 7, 2017, or very soon. The street is closed, and a large mobile craine is in the street. This week, they poured a massive foundation that appears to be the base for the tower crane, in the area that will become the elevator core.
Better get your butt our of bed old sport, if you want to get some tower crane photos. It’s on for this morning. Probably a very tall crane to build a 15 story office tower. Soon to be dwarfed by three or four much taller cranes for Apex, Marriott and the former police site with three 22 story office towers and 30 story residential twin tower at Apex.
@7:41: I've never seen Robert Dyer oppose development in Bethesda on the basis that it is "fully developed"
Just a sampling...
http://robertdyer.blogspot.com/2015/11/developers-seek-taller-buildings-in.html
http://robertdyer.blogspot.com/2016/03/westbard-land-use-staff-report-reflects.html
http://robertdyer.blogspot.com/2016/04/signage-installed-at-tappd-bethesda.html
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