Virginia studying another Metro extension - why isn't Montgomery County?

The Silver Line isn't even finished yet, and booming Northern Virginia is already looking at another ambitious subway extension to Prince William County. Meanwhile, Montgomery County elected officials are looking at a ten-day February vacation, and even sleepier, moribund economic times ahead. What they should be studying are Metro extensions to the Upcounty and East County, studies that should have begun over a decade ago.

Clarksburg is about 12 miles from the Shady Grove Metro station. Burtonsville is around 10 miles from the Silver Spring Metro station. Virginia's $2 million Blue Line study is examining a 15-mile extension to Prince William via Fort Belvoir, Lorton, Potomac Mills and Quantico, modestly bigger than either potential Montgomery County extension.

Rail transit is far more advantageous for economic development than bus rapid transit. Unlike BRT, companies and developers can be assured the new transit isn't going to be suddenly cut off or rerouted. Ridership of rail would be far higher than that of buses or BRT (the County's future "Flash" B"Rapid"T will take a sluggish 87 minutes to travel from Clarksburg to Bethesda - longer than a car in traffic!).

In contrast, Montgomery County couldn't even get the Corridor Cities Transitway bus line built. Instead of high-speed rail technology fomenting a modern economic hub of the future, Montgomery's "Science City" ended up as Sleepy City. Just more stack-and-pack residential development, and thousands more cars vying for space on over-capacity I-270 and MD 355 every rush hour. Promised anchor biotech tenant Johns Hopkins Medicine just exited stage left as a result.

Meanwhile, what jobs we had in the 270 corridor continued to migrate to Northern Virginia and Frederick County. Montgomery County was at rock bottom in the D.C. region for job growth over the last decade. What we need are boardrooms, not more bedrooms.

There are also large properties planned for redevelopment north of Shady Grove, such as Lakeforest Mall, COMSAT and the Montgomery County Fairgrounds. These developments will not be "smart growth" without a Metro extension, or other rail service, and will not have the job component we need to also reduce the number and length of car trips in the corridor. The same goes for White Oak and Burtonsville.

A coordinated plan to address our moribund economy and failing, incomplete transportation system is needed. No such plan has come out of our current County Council.

Here's what we should be prioritizing today:

• Study extending the Red Line to Clarksburg, including options for at-grade, elevated and cut-and-cover underground segments
• Metro should connect to Lakeforest and COMSAT
• Study of Metro extension from Silver Spring Metro to Burtonsville
• Addition of third track to MARC Brunswick Line
• Making Ride On bus service free
• More business-friendly tax policy and regulations
• More competitive state tax policies
• Fully privatizing the County liquor monopoly, and allowing beer and wine sales at all grocery, drug and convenience stores
• Coordinate timing of new business policies with zoning/sector plan updates that incentivize and favor commercial/corporate development (a.k.a. high-wage jobs) over residential housing
• Planning and construction of long-delayed Midcounty Highway Extended (M-83 Highway Master Plan Alignment), with potential use for median/cut-and-cover simultaneous construction of rail line from Shady Grove Metro on relevant segments
• Construction of equally-long-delayed new Potomac River crossing to Dulles Airport with trackbed for future Red Line extension to Silver Line in median, as a toll facility built by a private company
• A concerted, focused effort on attracting aerospace, defense and tech corporate headquarters, and related research and manufacturing facilities (i.e. satellite and rocket assembly)

The Montgomery County Council isn't doing any of this. In fact, they're in the middle of a 10-day vacation. In February. 

Working hard, or hardly working?

In contrast, the Council-equivalents of our biggest competitors - Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties - are all meeting this week. It would be interesting if all local media - print, online, TV, radio - would join me in exposing the lazy work schedule of our self-proclaimed "full-time" slacker County Council.

Anyone who thinks we can dig ourselves out of this economic hole with a small-ball agenda by running empty BRT buses up and down, giving government contracts to small businesses, believing residential housing that generates more costs than revenue is the definition of "economic development," and patting ourselves on the back by adding the same STEM components to our schools that all of our competitors' school systems are also adding - or that it can be done under the leadership of our current County Council - is fooling themselves. 

Virginia has plenty of housing. But they also have plenty of jobs. Plenty of revenue, as a result. And they are making the big ticket investments to keep cleaning our clock for decades to come. Meanwhile, we're scaring every company away, have a structural budget deficit as far out as the projections go, are paying record high taxes, have massive debt, and steadily declining revenue even with a 9% tax hike several years ago. 

We can't go on like this.

MVA expanding appointments to include vehicle titling

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R)

The Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration announced this morning that the appointment process it has used to address a backlog of Real ID verifications will now be expanded to include vehicle titling services. MVA Administrator Chrissy Nizer said that the appointments have been so successful and favorably-received by customers that the department decided to try expanding their use.

Customers who schedule a vehicle title-related appointment are guaranteed to be seen within 15 minutes of the appointment time, the MVA promised. In Montgomery County, the new titling appointments will be available at the Metropolitan Grove Gaithersburg and White Oak MVA branches. Appointments can now be made online.

Police crack down on "distracted driving" in Bethesda

Driver alert: Montgomery County police will be cracking down on drivers using their phones on major commuter routes in Bethesda, today and in the coming days. Officers will be actively patrolling for distracted driver offenses along roads such as River Road, Old Georgetown Road, and Wisconsin Avenue.

Fines for using a cell phone or other devices while behind the wheel range from $70 and one point against the driver's license for sending or receiving a text, to three years in prison and fines up to $5000, should the phone-using driver cause serious injury or death.

Multiple tenants burglarized at Bethesda office building

A burglar stole property from several tenants in a downtown Bethesda office building on February 11, 2020, Montgomery County police say. They have not identified the building address, only stating it is an office building currently under renovation.

Suspect (at right) carries alleged stolen
property as he exits the building

The suspect is seen in a surveillance video entering the building around 6:57 PM, as someone probably meaning to be helpful allows the allegedly-unauthorized intruder in through the locked front door after hours. He is seen again later barely holding onto his alleged bags of goodies taken from several offices in the building, as he makes a leisurely getaway.

Anyone with information regarding this suspect or this burglary is asked to call the 2nd District Investigative Section at 240-773-6710. Those who wish to remain anonymous may call Crime Solvers of Montgomery County toll-free at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477). Crime Solvers will pay a cash reward of up to $10,000 for information that leads to an arrest in this case.

Maizon Movie (Video)

Here's a video look at the Maizon Bethesda construction progress at 7500 Arlington Road in downtown Bethesda. Yesterday, I posted a photo gallery of the project, which is being developed by ZOM.

Bethesda construction update: Maizon Bethesda (Photos)

The future Maizon Bethesda apartments at 7500 Arlington Road are about a story above street level. There are also many support columns erected. The project is scheduled for delivery in 2021.

Potbelly opens in Friendship Heights

Potbelly has opened at 4459 Willard Avenue in Friendship Heights. This replaces the Chevy Chase location of Panera Bread. Price points are slipping in this area, which has been slammed by the flight of the rich to lower-tax jurisdictions in the region, who take their money with them. Undeterred by the facts on the ground, the Montgomery County Council is poised to again raise taxes in May. I like that you can get milkshakes at Potbelly; more fast-casual and fast food restaurants should add them.

Evoluxxy opens at Pike & Rose

Here's something that almost never happens in retail - a business that opens before the predicted opening season. Evoluxxy has opened at Pike & Rose. The women's designer-label fashion boutique was expected to open in the spring. Evoluxxy is located between Olive & Loom and Lucky Brand at 11811 Grand Park Avenue.

Bobby's Burger Palace closed at Montgomery Mall

Apparently, someone did manage to Beat Bobby Flay. Bobby's Burger Palace has closed at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. It's hard to believe, but the upscale burger joint did manage to last for six years and four months, not bad at all for a restaurant in the horrible business climate the Montgomery County Council has created for thin-profit-margin hospitality enterprises.

The windows and door were blacked out Sunday, and a farewell message thanking diners was posted. I do recall being pointedly snubbed for the media preview of this restaurant in 2013, an event attended by Bobby Flay himself. Not very smart to not promote your restaurant to thousands of readers of the leading source for Bethesda restaurant news at launch time. Always a bad way to enter a market in the new media age.

Bethesda construction update: Marriott International/hotel (Video+Photos)

Large-scale concrete pours will begin at 5:30 AM starting this week at the Marriott construction site at 7750 Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Bethesda. The concrete placements will continue every weekday through this fall, Marriott International's development partners say. Recent inclement weather has also required extra work to be made up this weekend, they report.

Starting this week, extensive work will begin to construct underground utility vaults for the hotel portion of the project. Work on the utility vaults for the relocating North Bethesda Marriott HQ is nearly finished. Work on the hotel vaults is expected to continue through the spring, and will require more excavation and trucks to haul that dirt and rock away.

Two Bethesda affordable housing properties to be redeveloped

4526 Avondale Street

Two affordable low-rise apartment buildings on Avondale Street in downtown Bethesda would be redeveloped into a new multifamily development under a pending application by SJ Investment Corporation. Under the proposal, 4526 and 4530 Avondale would be replaced with 60 apartments and underground parking.

4530 Avondale Street

The currently-zoned height limit for the combined 0.27 acre site is 70'. If the Montgomery County affordable housing standard of 12.5% is applied to the proposal, it would result in 4 to 5 MPDUs within the new development.

Location of the proposed development

A public meeting on the proposal has been scheduled for Monday, March 2, 2020 at 7:00 PM in the Wisconsin Room at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center at 4805 Edgemoor Lane. 

EuroMotorcars showroom update

Here's a look at the progress on the new EuroMotorcars showroom at the corner of Arlington Road and Bethesda Avenue. As you can see, the new showroom will be taller, and have much larger window views.

Along with Bethesda Porsche and Rockville Audi, you are seeing a much higher standard of dealership architecture being set by the German luxury brands in Montgomery County. EuroMotorcars will also be constructing their own Bethesda Audi dealership right across Arlington Road on the Goodyear site.