Parking lot project underway at Crescent Gateway in Bethesda

Part of the surface parking lot outside the Crescent Gateway building and CVS Pharmacy on Arlington Road was blocked off for an unannounced project as of Thursday night. There was still parking available in the lot and in the garage, and all businesses remained open.

Woodmont Grill parking lot shut down (Photos)

Woodmont Grill has lost its parking lot. The parking facility directly adjacent to the restaurant was abruptly closed and fenced off Friday. Their parking attendant is also out of a job for the moment, although their longtime attendant apparently retired a few months back.

The restaurant enjoys the highest volume of sales of any in downtown Bethesda. It certainly will be a step down for many diners, who are accustomed to parking in the convenient lot, to have to deal with the public parking garage across the street.

Patrons were already affronted twice in the last year by the partnership building Marriott's relocated Bethesda headquarters next door. First they started charging a parking fee to use the previously-free lot, then they cut the lot in half. Woodmont Grill did not own the lot; it is controlled by the owners of the Marriott site.

PARTIAL CLOSURE OF LITTLE FALLS PARKWAY LOT TO IMPACT BETHESDA POOL PATRONS

A portion of the public parking lot just north of Arlington Road on Little Falls Parkway will close Monday, April 28. It will remain closed from tomorrow through December, while it is utilized as a staging area for WSSC contractors for the Bethesda Waterline Replacement project. That project itself has generated complaints from residents closer to the actual work.

One has to ask if this is an appropriate use of public property. The loss of parking spaces will surely be a problem when the Bethesda Pool opens in May, as the lot handles overflow parking for that Little Falls Parkway recreational facility. This is just the latest insult to users of Little Falls Stream Valley Park over the last few years, with the Hoyt/Betco property decision and results being the most notable.

SLEEPY'S BUILDING COULD ADD 2 FLOORS ON WISCONSIN AVENUE IN BETHESDA (PHOTOS)

A second downtown Bethesda landowner is bucking the mixed-use development trend.

An application is before the Montgomery County Planning Board requesting permission to add 2 floors to the Sleepy's mattress store building on Wisconsin Avenue. The store is near the new Bethesda Post Office, and across a public alley from the Strathmore Apartments.

The applicant seeks to retain the surface parking lot, and add an elevator and handicapped van parking space.

Planning Board staff is recommending approval under the condition that the applicant make sidewalk, alley, lighting and parking lot improvements.

This sounds fine to me, but I have 2 small concerns:

The staff's proposal to screen the parking lot from view of the sidewalk, and the apartments in back, does raise safety issues. One of the advantages of roadside surface parking is the ability of passing motorists, pedestrians, cyclists and police to note any criminal activity taking place in such lots.  Given that the lot has been there for years, is it really necessary to "hide" it? I would think shielding the apartments from headlights might make sense. But screening the street side doesn't.

The other concern is that the Planning Board staff report notes stair access from the lot to the alley. And that a lower-level business tenant can be reached from the alley via that staircase. However, a disabled person could not. I'd be interested to know if there is an alternative access method for customers with disabilities.

NO WAY TO SPIN BETHESDA POST OFFICE DEBACLE

ABC7 has finally discovered - with a little help from panicked Montgomery County politicians - that the new Bethesda post office at 6900 Wisconsin Avenue has no parking... ...oh, just 4 months after I first wrote about it here on this blog.

Unfortunately, the channel was being used by the county officials who are actually to blame for the whole fiasco.

After waiting for over 2 months, the county establishment is now bringing all of its insider power to bear on anyone and everyone who could potentially provide parking for postal customers.  It's being made abundantly clear to those entities that it is in their best interest to comply.  Now.

Publicly, however, the media appears willing to present a different narrative:  that all of this was a complete surprise, and that Chris Van Hollen (and possibly other yet-to-speak-publicly officials) is going to come to the heroic rescue of the citizens of Bethesda.

Ha.

Enough with the baloney.

There's no way you can put a positive spin on an overpaid Congressman and county council not being involved in the process of closing every post office in town, and selecting a new site.  That is the most basic, bread-and-butter constituent service issue a politician could ever confront.  And they just weren't engaged.  What were they doing instead?

Now Channel 7 is saying, "sources tell ABC7" that a solution will be announced next week.  Well, of course it is.  But it will literally be too little, and too late.

Hence the spin machines are working overtime.

But there are only heroes in white hats in the imaginations of the politicians of Montgomery County.  We need a new post office, with drive-up drop boxes, ample parking and in walking distance of downtown residents.  Period.  And, we need a full investigation - media and otherwise - of what Van Hollen and the council knew about the post office decision process, and when they knew it.

Now that's a story for ABC7!

THE SECRET PASSAGE IN BETHESDA'S LOT 8

Yesterday, I told you about the best kept parking secret in downtown Bethesda, Public Parking Lot 8.

But there's one more secret at Lot 8:  a secret passage that takes you over to Cordell Avenue.  The passage could really use some lighting and a power wash.  But with that warning in mind, the miniature alleyway could come in handy in getting over to Freddy's Lobster, Grapeseed, California Tortilla, Flanagan's Harp and Fiddle, etc. etc. on Cordell.

Stay classy, Bethesda.

You made it!  You're on Cordell Avenue!

BETHESDA PUBLIC PARKING LOT 8 OPENS - FINALLY!

Bethesda's newest public parking lot, Lot 8 on St. Elmo Avenue between Norfolk and Woodmont Avenues, opened Monday after months of delay by the county.

Lighting has finally been installed

Don't let word get out about the best parking in
town - it's our little secret on St. Elmo Avenue!

Thank the Monopoly Guy for free parking; meters haven't been installed, but are scheduled to be by next Monday.

No meters!  Plenty of free parking
and upscale ambiance

Free surface parking - this is what
America's all about!

There is a 2 hour time limit.  Please check all signage when parking for updated policies.

2 hour limit - don't get towed
away by The Man!

Until then, enjoy the best kept secret in downtown Bethesda parking - Lot 8!

PAUL BLART: MAIL COP

WACKY NEW BETHESDA POST OFFICE

STILL HAS NO PARKING, BUT A COP

TO LET YOU KNOW

Patrons of Bethesda's new "post office" quickly learned that federal, state, local and postal officials had approved a site that had no parking for postal customers.

Beleagured citizens were victims of predatory towing, when attempting to park in the lot next to the building at 6900 Wisconsin Avenue.  The lot seems like the logical place to park.  In reality, it is only for customers of the mattress store and Verizon Wireless.

A month has gone by, and politicians have yet to provide a single parking space.

But a "mail cop" is now on duty at the mattress/Verizon lot to tell you to "get off their lawn" if you try to drop off that birthday card for grandma.

It's not Verizon's fault, or the mattress folks' by any means.  That's their lot, for their customers, they pay for it, and have a right to keep others out.

It's not their fault that the USPS chose an inaccessible location for an "urban" post office.

The real shock is that USPS was able to get away with it.

I believe I was the first person to point out the problems with the site, long before it opened.  That was before it was even known that the too-tiny lot was going to be off-limits.

Being a lifelong resident, such a site proposal immediately sounded crazy to me.

But local politicians apparently lack my familiarity with downtown Bethesda.  They had not word one to say about it.

Local media bought into the USPS PR, even parroting the talking points that "parking will be available" and that the site was "walking distance from Metro."  Just check a map!

As of today, not a single member of the Montgomery County Council has publicly commented on the postal fiasco.  A post office with no parking.  How do you ignore something like that?  Too many steak dinners with developer lobbyists (the Post Office swap was rushed to create project opportunities for two developers on the old postal sites)?  Too busy approving sales of public parking lots to developers?

And what of Chris Van Hollen?  Yet to be quoted, his office claimed to be working on the issue belatedly weeks ago.

No results so far.  Just Paul Blart, Mail Cop out there.  Van Hollen is often touted by just about everyone for his political skills, genius intellect and command of the issues.  But he didn't find anything wrong with 6900 as a postal site when it was announced.  And I'm assuming closure of your constituents' post offices would be kind of on your Congressional radar.

What can anyone do?  The parking just isn't there to begin with.  Smart politicians would have put the brakes on 6900 immediately.

Fortunately for them, they're not taking any criticism from the local media for a blatantly obvious disaster that is - absolutely - partly their fault.

And that's going to keep the untenable postal parking situation going for quite a while.  No heat? No fallout?  No parking.

Ain't it cool?

Do I have any advice for would-be postal patrons trying to park, who find the advice of parking in a garage 2 blocks away to be not exactly helpful?

Uh, maybe wear pajamas, hold up your phone, and ask, "Can you hear me now?" when the mail cop "pulls you over," and convince him you're going to buy a mattress and a new data plan?

Conversely, is it time to join the "throw the bums out" movement that was in every newspaper yesterday?  Meaning, vote everybody on the council off in 2014.  And even if they are just 9 new Democrats, wouldn't that be an improvement over the current situation of failure, taxoholic spending and ignorance of basic issues, like where senior citizens can mail a letter?  You know, the folks who pay the councilmembers' massive CEO-style salaries?

In one of the wealthiest, most-educated areas in the world, we have a post office with no parking, and no one is talking about it.  Much less doing anything.

Except Paul Blart.

"Segway Parking Only."

BETHESDA PUBLIC PARKING LOT 43 TO BE SOLD TO DEVELOPER

Just as downtown Bethesda's parking nightmare has reached its worst, Montgomery County Government is selling yet another public parking lot to a private developer.

Parking Lot 43, at 8009 Woodmont Avenue, will be sold to developer JBG and will be part of a development that will include the new Bethesda police station.

The new police station is desperately needed, but one wishes the county could have staggered the closures of so many of downtown Bethesda's parking facilities.  Instead, they've sold them off to developers in one real estate land rush.

Much like Lot 31 and 31A, some parking may come with the new development, but what are downtown businesses and their patrons to do in the meantime?

FIASCO! NEW BETHESDA POST OFFICE HAS NO PARKING FOR POSTAL CUSTOMERS!!!

WARNING:

POSTAL CUSTOMERS

COULD BE TOWED AWAY!

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive!!!

Ashton Kutcher is apparently now Postmaster General, folks.

Remember my expose months back about the nutty location choice of 6900 Wisconsin Avenue for Bethesda's new Post Office?

And how I pointed out the small lot, without enough spaces for USPS customers?

It just got worse.

Turns out, you can't even park in that lot!  Despite USPS claims to the media that "parking would be available," there is currently zero parking available for post office customers.

Bethesda Chevy Chase Services Center Director Ken Hartman is alerting Bethesda residents to the fact that they may find their cars towed away, if they park in the building's adjacent lot.  He urges you to park at the Staples/CVS garage, and walk over.  Definitely good advice.

This revelation has turned a terrible location choice into a complete fiasco.

A post office.  With no parking.

Is this going to be in the late night monologues, or what?

This is an absolute disgrace.  A wealthy city like Bethesda has a completely inaccessible Post Office.  Why have a post office at all, at this rate?

The new site should have been centrally located, in a walkable area with parking nearby.

Apparently, the USPS did not even do due diligence in securing parking for its customers.

And local politicians didn't even review the basic details, or notice what a crazy location it was.

Now, suddenly, Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D) "has learned of this situation and is working with the US Postal Service to come up with a solution."

What were these guys doing when the decisions were being made?

Are they going to pay the towing charges for innocent customers?

All this because elected officials put the developers first, instead of their constituents.

Embarrassing.

ALL FULL

Parkmageddon is upon us!

An electronic sign on Elm Street pronounced the
Bethesda Row public parking garage full Saturday

With Lots 31 and 31A closed, as well as the Del Ray lot (recently reduced to rubble for construction of "That 70s Building" a.k.a The Gallery), parking in downtown Bethesda is more challenging than ever.

Warm weather, and the return of college students, means this is the peak season at Bethesda Row.

The result is what happens when developers become a higher priority for elected officials than taxpaying residents and business owners in Bethesda.

Certainly, some people are going to get frustrated and go elsewhere.  Will they come back after The Darcy and its ample public garage finally open?

DOWNTOWN BETHESDA'S NEW PARKING LOT DELAYED

DESPITE CLOSURE OF 3 DOWNTOWN

PUBLIC PARKING LOTS, NEW LOT 8

YET TO OPEN ON ST. ELMO

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive!!!

Summer is almost here.  The weather is getting warmer.  College students will be returning home in the coming weeks.  In other words, the peak time of the year for downtown Bethesda is upon us.  With it comes more pedestrians, more outdoor diners and more cars.

With a whopping 3 downtown public parking lots now closed, where are they going to park?

It's unlikely the Bethesda Row public garage will be saying 100 vacancies on the electronic counter outside, when temperatures and weather turn wonderful.

One small band-aid was the new Lot 8 on St. Elmo Avenue.  Yet, it seems to have been abandoned for months.  As of Tuesday evening, it was still barricaded and closed to the public.  The lights were to have been installed, and everything else appeared to be in place.

So what happened?

Time's running out to get Lot 8 open for summer!  It's clear what has to be done.  Now, as James Carville would say, they "need to get down here and start doin' it!"

MORE PICS FROM

FINAL HOURS OF

LOT 31 AT

BETHESDA ROW

Here are some more shots taken in public parking lot 31 in the final hours before it was sealed off for demolition.

Enjoy these pics taken from vantage points now impossible to access.

As for Tuesday's "groundbreaking," what a letdown! All they've done so far is yank the parking meters off their posts, and place 2 Jiffy Johns in the center.

THE FINAL HOURS

OF LOT 31 AND 31-A

Say goodbye forever to two downtown Bethesda and Bethesda Row landmarks! These photos were taken in the final hours before the public parking lots were closed for demolition.

BETHESDA / NW DC

CRIME WAVE

UPDATE

Has the Park Bethesda Ski Mask

Gang Reemerged on DC Side of Line?

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive!!!

The January 19 Park Bethesda armed robbers remain atop Bethesda's "Most Wanted" list.

No incidents fitting their description (3 robbers using firearms, wearing ski masks, assaulting and robbing victim of property) are found in the Montgomery County Police official crime report.

However...

Let's check SpotCrime's unofficial report:

Assault, 5000 block of Dalton Road, Bethesda, 3/24/12

Robbery, 4200 block of Connecticut Ave. NW, DC, 3/28/12

***Armed Robbery, 4000 block of Connecticut Ave. NW, DC, 3/28/12

According to SpotCrime:

Metropolitan Police Department officers reported an armed robbery "at gunpoint" at 2:01 PM on Tuesday, March 28. Suspects described as 2 black males, who fled the scene and are still at large.

This sounds somewhat like the ski mask gang, fits their m.o. of operating near Metro stations on the Red Line (Van Ness, in this case), but there are only two robbers mentioned. And there is no specific mention of them wearing masks. Is this a different group, or have they lost their Third Musketeer?

Were they the same guys who committed that second robbery on Connecticut that same day? That second incident (above) does not mention "armed" but it is reminiscent of how the ski mask gang struck on Wisconsin Avenue one night, the victim escaped, and then they struck again just a few blocks south.

It's a waiting game at this point. Certainly, there were no armed robbery incidents reported in nearby NW or Bethesda for several weeks. No official information on this incident is available, which is strange, because the SpotCrime source for this says the robbery was reported by MPD units.

No crimes of any kind were reported in the Westbard Sector this past week. Police remain on patrol in the area.

Nothing's changed at the Westwood Shopping Center; large portions of the parking lot were pitch black again for the entire week, as of last night. Park Bethesda residents must brave the darkness to walk over to the Giant or Rite Aid, as Capital Properties - for reasons still known only to them - simply refuses to activate full lighting on the property at night.

BETHESDA ROW

PARKING LOTS

NOW CLOSING

APRIL 10

But What Grocery Store Will

End Up in The Darcy?

Remember I said to be skeptical about the last announcement of a closure date for Bethesda Avenue lots 31 and 31A?

Well, you were ready then for the latest delay. Yes, they've moved it (again) from April 1 to April 10.

And 60 days later, Woodmont Avenue will close between Bethesda and Miller Avenues.

I'm wondering just what the parking impact will be. The new electronic signs at the Elm Street Bethesda Avenue garages claim there are between 100-something and 400 spaces available during the evening rush hour/dinner time.

Are those all dining/shopping-suitable spaces? And with 279 spaces being lost, you can tell that 150 spaces in the garage won't cut it. Some people refuse to park in a garage, and some of those folks may be gone for good.

The future replacement parking will be all garage.

The Darcy is one of the two buildings going up on the site, and there are new questions about what grocery store it will have onsite.

Rumors last fall suggested that Harris Teeter would come to Bethesda Row. I seconded that prediction based on the comments of a real estate veteran, and the fact that the same developer snagged Harris Teeter for a building it opened in the District.

But talk of Harris Teeter coming to the (disappointing) Trillium replacement project at Wisconsin and Battery Lane, starts the debate anew.

Can there be two Harris Teeters that close, just as Safeway has two downtown Bethesda stores? It's certainly possible. Will the developer turn to another chain (alas, fellow Wegmans fans, there isn't enough room on the ground floor for Rochester's finest grocery store - unless they give them two floors!)?

Or will the promised grocery concierge simply go down the block to the Bethesda Row Giant?

Stay tuned!

BETHESDA / NW DC

CRIME WAVE

UPDATE

No New Armed Robberies to Report,

Capital Properties Takes

Westwood Shopping Center

Back to Dark Ages

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive!!!

The Jan. 19 Park Bethesda armed, masked trio is still at large. No armed robberies fitting the gang's method of operation have been reported.

Let's examine any other crimes within the group's operating area, which centers on the Western Avenue border between Maryland and the District. Specifically, assaults, robberies and auto thefts. This trio clearly has utilized vehicles, given the distance of the Park Bethesda from the nearest Metro station. Criminals in this situation could make use of stolen cars, and switch them as necessary.

Assault, 5100 block of Dalecarlia Place, Bethesda, 3/13/2012 (SpotCrime)

Assault, 7359 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, 3/13/2012 (SpotCrime)

Robbery, 2800 block of New Mexico Avenue, NW, DC, 3/13/2012 (SpotCrime)

Assault, 4900 block of Fairmont Avenue, Bethesda, 3/11/2012 (SpotCrime)

Assault, 4900 block of Fairmont Avenue, Bethesda, 3/10/2012 (SpotCrime)

Robbery, 4800 block of Nebraska Avenue, NW, DC, 3/9/2012 (SpotCrime)

The only notable incident reported by the Montgomery County Police was a theft of vehicle at Macarthur Blvd. and Brickyard Rd., outside of the Park Bethesda robbers' area of activity.

In other news, Capital Properties bizarrely has turned off the lights in one-third of the parking area at the Westwood Shopping Center. Apparently, they think the community is not intelligent enough to realize the lights are off. Once again, it is a dark and dangerous trip to the grocery and drug stores for residents of Park Bethesda and Westbard Mews, who walk across the darkened area of the lot.

After Friendship Heights retailers agreed to leave on more exterior lighting, and Pepco replaced some faulty streetlights, it is beyond embarrassing for Capital Properties to decrease public safety in the Westbard area by extinguishing lights that have been lit at night for decades.

The lights have been off three nights, as of Thursday night. Lighting remains on in parking areas directly in front of stores in the shopping center, as it did during the three week blackout that ended eight days ago.

Now that the lights are out again, nearby residents are wondering what Capital Properties' message is to the neighborhood, even as the developer hopes to win community support for redevelopment of the Westbard sector. Not a great way to go about winning support!

EXCLUSIVE SNEAK

PREVIEW:

BETHESDA'S NEWEST

PARKING LOT

St. Elmo Avenue Public Parking Lot 8

Aims to Ease Bethesda's Parking Nightmare

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive!!!

You can't park there.

But you can take in the majesty of downtown Bethesda's newest parking lot in these super-exclusive photos.

Montgomery County's St. Elmo Avenue Public Parking Lot 8 is nearly ready to receive its first (paying) customers. The last step is to add the lighting (Capital Properties could learn a thing or two from the county in that regard!).

Lot 8 is small and tucked away off St. Elmo Avenue behind The Corner Slice. It's just past the intersection at Norfolk Avenue on your left. While most attention is on the April 1 closing of two public lots on Bethesda Avenue, Lot 8 is more directly a replacement for a just-closed surface lot in the Del Ray/Auburn Avenue area of "Old Town" Bethesda.

Lot 8 offers traditional parking spaces on the left side, and parallel spaces on the right. Meters max out at 2 hours, and, of course, disabled parkers will find a space here, too.

This is a good lot to use to visit Rock Bottom, Union Jack's, Hanaro or BlackFinn - but please limit yourself alcohol-wise if you're getting back behind the wheel!

Speaking of alcohol, Lot 8 is also perfect for a quick stop at Capital Beer and Wine, or to pick up a hot pizza pie at the aforementioned Corner Slice.

Dining-in at Annie's Bistro Francais, Chef Tony's or the Red Tomato Cafe is made easier by Lot 8, too. A 2-hour time limit is more reasonable than those 1-hour jokers you often find among Bethesda parking meters.

Lot 8 is the Revenge of Surface Parking Lots. And that's great news for Bethesda drivers. If you can snag a space.

So check out that fresh asphalt and paint! Will you be the first to park in Lot 8?

GREAT CAESAR'S GHOST!

MORE DOWNTOWN BETHESDA

PUBLIC PARKING TO CLOSE!

Sometime this month, the public lots across from Barnes and Noble at Bethesda Row are scheduled to close. This will cause a parking catastrophe. The only actions taken by the county to help have been to place a space-vacancy sign at the Bethesda Ave. garage, designate more spaces for Bethesda Row patrons within it, and suggest that the public park in distant garages/lots and take the Bethesda Circulator back to Bethesda Row.

Now we find out that an entire one of those lots is closing around February 15!! Forever!!!

Great Caesar's Ghost! Who is making these decisions?

Public Parking Lot 39 on Del Ray Avenue is being sold to a for-profit developer for mixed-use development. Now, that's all fine and dandy, but this is going from bad to worse.

And raising a lot of questions.

In my opinion, the imminent parking situation is going to have a far greater impact on visitors and businesses than we are being told.

The fact that the county owned all 3 parking facilities makes that reality unconscionable.

Why did the county council and Planning Board approve the sale of the Bethesda lots without first developing a real-world alternative parking plan?

Second, why would they time a third lot's sale, condemnation and redevelopment approval for precisely the month in which we are to lose the other two lots?

If the BCC Chamber of Commerce has said something about this, it certainly wasn't very loud.

I think residents, patrons, and business owners and employees in downtown Bethesda deserve better.