The pedestrian promenade between the new Marriott International headquarters and Marriott Bethesda Downtown hotel opened to the public yesterday at 7750 Wisconsin Avenue in Bethesda. In addition to providing access to various entrances at the two buildings when they open in the future, the walkway provides a short cut between Wisconsin and Woodmont Avenues.
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This type of space is referred to as a “privately owned public space” or POPS, in the MoCo planning speak. It is a negotiated amenity that provides openness and allows access to the public, but is still owned, and fully maintained by the land owner. Many complain about the lack of county parks in downtown Bethesda, but there are lots of these spaces all over town. A nice way to enhance the public realm, but not burden the county to purchase land, or maintain the spaces. The Downtown Bethesda Overlay District Plan actually refers to the connected set of these POPS as the Bethesda Discovery Trail, designed to encourage the public to explore these diverse spaces that are not part of the public sidewalk network.
In this case, I believe that Marriott has negotiated the right to temporarily close part or all of the space for private special events.
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