It's Groundhog Day in Bethesda, as one of the main elevator banks in the Montgomery County Government-owned parking garage at The Metropolitan remains out of service. The ADA violation has
continued since August, as our elected officials continue to thumb their collective noses at taxpayers. Our "leaders" are astonishingly unable to deliver the most-basic functions of government, as anyone who presses the button to summon the elevator here will quickly surmise.
Even as Montgomery County Councilman Evan Glass is proposing
more taxes amidst already-record-high County taxation, the County has failed to repair a major elevator bank at
its own Bethesda government headquarters for months. If the elevator could talk, I suspect it would say, "I just want to give you your money's worth. You paid top dollar for me." Just more evidence that we need to convert the At-Large seats on the Council to smaller district seats, as currently no councilmember is addressing basic Bethesda issues like this.
50 comments:
Well, since the elevators CAN'T talk, who have you contacted that CAN talk?
What's the reason? To be OoO for this long, maybe it needs major repairs? Which department is in charge of things like this? Who can people contact to complain?
It's groundhog's day because you're writing yet another article about a single elevator outage that doesn't include any useful information.
Most people walk the steps in this garage unless you are incapacitated or lazy like Robert.
6:00: People in wheelchairs or seniors using walkers "walk the steps?" LOL. Your ignorance would be stunning if you weren't a paid shill for the MoCo cartel.
5:44: It has every bit of information needed - now if they can just hire the repairman.
5:41: No elevator repair takes two months. Let's be serious.
5:39: You out yourself again as the carpetbagger, unaware that the County government's Regional Services Center for Bethesda is part of the Metropolitan property. I guess people who've lived here for awhile would refuse to work for your bosses at the County Council, so they have to go with carpetbaggers like you.
Atleast WMATA gives more details and estimated time of repair.
Wow..MoCo is worse than WMATA!
For the bajillionth time, it's NOT AN ADA VIOLATION. All elevators out would be. One is not.
@ Dyer - ignorance is when you think I am anywhere close to being part of the alleged MoCo cartel.
Of course elevator repairs have lasted longer than 2 years. you keep saying "repair." Do you know that? Should it be "replace?"
You can't just drive down to Home Depot and pick up an elevator cab and machine room equipment.
Anyway, that's not what I asked.
What's the reason? To be OoO for this long, maybe it needs major repairs? Which department is in charge of things like this? Who can people contact to complain?
BTW, I've lived here for 56 years and I had no idea " that the County government's Regional Services Center for Bethesda is part of the Metropolitan property"
Why would a normal resident know that? Be serious. Think before you speak.
6:54: If you weren't part of the cartel, you'd be posting a comment criticizing the County government about the elevator outage. Literally no one outside the cartel would be defending a two month elevator outage and ADA violation in a County-owned garage.
6:42: Read the ADA again. This is a clear violation.
Man, anyone else love the MoCo machine for reminding us of the amazing Groundhog day movie? Praise the machine!!!!!!
Yes I criticize the outage. I also ask whether you the reporter have inquired into the timetable for repair?
Time for another walking tour?
The ADA wouldn't call it a violation if there were other ways available, which it looks like there are.
"206.2.1 Site Arrival Points. At least one accessible route shall be provided within the site from accessible parking spaces and accessible passenger loading zones; public streets and sidewalks; and public transportation stops to the accessible building or facility entrance they serve." as shown on https://www.access-board.gov/
Maybe we're not the ones who need to read the ADA again.
Kenneth, what is the frequency?
So, Robbie...
Did you contact the County Council?
Did you contact our District 1 Councilman, Andrew Friedson?
Did you contact the Montgomery County Disability Service in the County Department of Health and Human Services?
Did you contact the County Executive's Office?
Did you even bother to call 311?
Or are you just content to stare at a sign at 3 AM, perpetually curse the darkness, but never, ever light a candle?
Did you contact the Bethesda Urban Partnership?
Did you even try to press the button to call the elevator? Maybe it’s just the evil MoCo cartel playing a big joke on you by posting signs to get you all riled up.
Which is worse - ignoring baseball last night by watching a building light up or ignoring and not reporting to the cartel while reporting on an elevator outage in a public garage?
7:21: Oh, but you are - I already covered in detail on the September update article's comment section how this violates several provisions of the ADA specific to parking facilities.
7:41: You are admitting that all of the officials you listed are unaware of an elevator outage in their own facility for two months, and are asleep at the switch, because they don't get around Bethesda that much?
That's a good first step - admitting you have a problem.
The second step is admitting the photos were taken around 6-7 PM, not "3 AM," old sport.
I love being an ivy league liberal moco machine member! We run this town Dyer!!!!
"You are admitting that all of the officials you listed are unaware of an elevator outage in their own facility for two months, and are asleep at the switch, because they don't get around Bethesda that much?"
So, what do you propose to do to get this elevator fixed, Dyer?
Nope. You are wrong. No two ways about it.
It is not a violation to have an elevator OoO when there are others available. Even in parking structures.
It's a Title III facility and falls under the Title III regulations.
I suggest you read Section 36.211 (b).
"I already covered in detail on the September update article's comment section how this violates several provisions of the ADA specific to parking facilities."
I checked the September article, and your only mention of the ADA was this one sentence:
"This is also a violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act, as garage users with disabilities are forced to walk to the other side of the building in order to exit the garage."
Which is not an actual violation of the ADA, as several other readers stated above.
Also, do you ever plan to acknowledge that the parking fees were not "raised" in Garage 49 in July, but actually lowered 25 cents per hour (or 20%)?
Saith Dyer: "You are admitting that all of the officials you listed are unaware of an elevator outage in their own facility for two months"
You really attribute magical powers to our County Council members.
Why on Earth would any, let alone all nine, of them be aware of the status of a specific elevator at a specific facility? And what reasonable person would expect them to know this?
Also, it's not "their own facility". It is public property.
9:28: Wrong again. Here are the exact quotes from the ADA that I indeed posted on the September article comments:
1. "Accessible parking spaces must be located on the shortest accessible route to an accessible entrance, relative to other spaces in the same parking facility."
- Old Georgetown is not the shortest accessible route to this entrance.
2. "Each direct connection to a facility must include an accessible entrance."
- This direct connection currently lacks an accessible entrance.
3. "Accessible routes must connect directly to access aisles."
9:54: It gets better - now you are admitting actual elected officials haven't been to the main government facility in downtown Bethesda in more than 2 months?
Good God, that's a humiliating concession for the Council to make. $137,000 salary, and they haven't been to Bethesda in over months?!
It absolutely is their facility - they are in charge of maintaining and operating it.
Read Section 36.211(b) of the ADA
Massive henny-pennying on your part, Dyer.
So, you're saying they're required to go to every county building and facility, how often? You think every 2 months is too long so... every month? every week?
Still hung up on the council making a normal wage, I see.
Seriously, you need to look into what professionals make these days.
If you're not disabled, you probably don't understand the effort it may take for someone to walk from a car to the elevator then having to walk all the way across the garage, in traffic.
Can we get a sign at the entrance alerting folks that half of the elevators are out of service and park accordingly?
Love Dyer's constituent service here!
11:22AM - I do understand. My mother was disabled. You'll see I began by asking who to contact.
But that has nothing to do disagreeing whether it is a violation or not. BTW, it's not.
Lets summarize:
- Dyer is an expert on the American Disability Act
- Dyer thinks everyone is dumb, except him
- Dyer is an expert on Halloween candy
Hi Robert. I know this has been asked before but we haven’t heard an answer. What did the county say was the reason for the delay and expected timetable for repair?
I think there's a broader misunderstanding of what the B-CC Regional Services Center is. It is not a center of government like the County Council building or the Executive building in Rockville. Rather, the center is supposed to bring county government *services* closer to the residents that use them. A lot of what they provide is information and referrals to people within the county government that can help with a specific issue. They also house OASIS, which holds educational classes for seniors on a variety of topics, the Conflict Resolution Center of Montgomery County - a mediation service - and Wonders Childcare.
The center isn't there as another base of operations for the County Council, but to be a liaison for local residents who might not know who to go to for help with an issue. Council members and the Executive do visit occasionally, but usually for something like a budget forum or public hearing.
Thanks, Suze. I didn't realize all that.
I'm laughing at Dyer's notion that the County Council members, responsible for governing a County with a million residents, would be intimately involved in the day-to-day operations of this garage. It's obvious that he has never held a job in his life.
3:07: You find Montgomery County government's failure to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act humorous? That speaks volumes about you, not me.
12:49: It is a government facility, as is the garage underneath. I don't understand how the functions you describe absolve the County from repairing its own elevator bank.
My hunch is, few voters agree with your idea that councilmembers who represent Bethesda would not be in Bethesda regularly, and allow an ADA violation in their own facility to persist for over two months. I'm not getting paid $137,000 or on the Council, and I'm aware of it. How do you explain the folks who are getting paid $137,000 to maintain this stuff not being aware of it?
It is not a violation to have an elevator OoO when there are others available. Even in parking structures.
It's a Title III facility and falls under the Title III regulations.
I suggest you read Section 36.211 (b).
A special prize is awarded today to the commentator who accuses Robert Dyer of not doing anything productive. Which is more productive: posting a blog entry to draw attention to long-overdue repairs, or posting asinine personal attacks?
This unuseful idiot joins the infamous “Correct me if I’m wrong”, who made up figures that were off by a factor of ten in order to attack Dyer for something he didn’t actually say but MIGHT say.
4:36: I quoted above 3 ADA provisions that MoCo is in non-compliance with in this garage. You seriously can't be arguing in favor of non-compliance with the ADA.
EXCEPT there is a provision for repairs and replacements. That makes it compliant.
Make a phone call. Ask the right people. I did. It is not a violation. Although I "could" make a formal complaint, since it is a repair, with other means available and not a permanent type issue, it wouldn't be a priority.
Against it? I've been trying to find out how to get it fixed.
5:29AM One could bitch and complain about how things should run in a perfect world, or one could find a solution in the real world. I'm in the 2nd camp.
Well fun fact, the services center is under the oversight of the County Executive's office, not the Council. So your diatribe against the council for their lack of action is a moot point, as it the responsibility of the executive branch of the government.
I never said that Councilmember Friedson is rarely in Bethesda, you twisted my words. Andrew Friedson has been really active in the community, I've seen him and talked to him at dozens of events. But District 1 isn't just Bethesda, he's responsible for Friendship Heights, North Bethesda, Potomac, Cabin John, Poolesville... not to mention the actual legislative work that takes place in Rockville. I'd be worried if he WAS in Bethesda 24/7 because that would mean the rest of his district wasn't getting as much attention.
6:32: The Council has oversight over the executive branch. How is that I know about the outage but the Council doesn't? I'm not getting paid $137,000 a year - they are, but they're not doing their job.
The services center is the focal point of government in Bethesda. It's alarming to hear that the District 1 and At-Large members haven't been there in over 2 months.
Ultimately, there's no good way to spin this for them without them looking negligent, asleep at the switch, corrupt, not that smart, or all of the above.
6:32am yes,.I'm sure friedson is busy balancing work and his family. Tough to do.
11:32 AM great point. how many kids does he have?
Robert. Thank you for reporting on the ongoing issue. What did the county say the problem is and when will it be fixed?
What's the reason? To be OoO for this long, maybe it needs major repairs? Which department is in charge of things like this? Who can people contact to complain?
Why do handicapped people need the elevator? Why aren't the handicapped spaces on the first floor?
4:27: Because they can't climb stairs. It's an underground garage, not surface parking.
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