A new sign has been installed in an interesting location at Westbard Square in Bethesda. It's actually a little ways down the street from the new mixed-use development on Westbard Avenue. The spot is a grassy area along the side yard fence of a single-family home on nearby Ridgefield Road. It's an area that used to be Westbard Avenue before the road was realigned to curve toward River Road. And it's an area that isn't exactly aesthetically pleasing at the moment, with the decision to not bury the utility lines, poor grass coverage, ugly utility boxes at ground level, and recent tree plantings that haven't had much time to grow yet.
29 comments:
Agreed kind of a nutty spot for a sign. In the good news category, boy does the new Paint job on the Kenwood building look great !!
I believe this is to mark the location of the secret future purple line stop. Can't be too close to the parking garage of course
So pathetic that the MoCo Planning Board ignored the pleas of residents during the “listening sessions” about this development to require the developers to BURY THE POWER LINES. So short sighted and incompetent.
What happened to the: Zenith Overlook(ed)!
So in the future, it will be the Gunfight at Westbard Square!
How about landscaping the hillside a bit? It looks terrible.
I assume the temporary electrical connection will be resolved when Phase 2 of Westbard is constructed. They just wanted to mark the northwest end of their project limits with an illumined sign.
Painting old building is in style now I heard. How many billions did this job cost?
The power lines to Section 1 of Westbard (Giant/Townhouses) are underground. You are seeing temporary power until Section 2 is complete with underground.
More likely corrupt and complicit
Have you head of a temporary permanent arrangement?
12:59: the power lines within the development may be buried. However, i’s the rats’ nests of distribution lines strung on utility poles along Westbard Avenue that the planning board should have required be buried as well! It could have looked 1,000 times better than it does now !
@ 5:15 AM Nature will reclaim its domain.
This triangle was not originally part of the development. When it was added, it should have been turned into a park. Instead, it became a place to put a sign that wasn't even needed. This isn't a suburban shopping center any more. Maybe Regency Centers should consider demolishing this useless sign and replacing it with an extension of the park and a sign that says, "Sponsored by Regency Centers."
It's ok as long as its not granite like some idiots want to do.
You could make that a community effort and DIY.
You can’t just decide to bury all power lines when everything in this area is above ground. Do you want the developer to pay for all of it? How far away from Westbard would they need to go?
3:30: If the developer is allowed to temporarily close an public arterial road to accommodate construction AND is granted the extraordinary power to re-route public rights-of-way in order to maximize their profit (as was the case here) it is entirely reasonable for them to be required to bury the distribution lines (at their own expense) within the Limitation of Disturbance (LOD). They basically leveled the ENTIRE site and could EASILY have buried electrical in that area. Just as greenfield subdivisions are required to do.
Great idea. Andrew Friedson and the County Council will give out of state developers whatever they want, even at the expense of their constituents.
Retaining ugly utility lines and boxes was just one of many broken promises from the 2014-2016 Westbard sector plan process. New school? Deleted. Westbard Transit Center? Deleted. Free shuttle to Metro? Deleted. Willets Branch Greenway? Never delivered. But now let's reelect the same criminals to the County Council again! 🤡
Certainly, they are going to waste and squander other people's money.
Looks like a headstone which is kind of apropos at this point in this part of the MoCo.
"community effort?" You must be joking!
That's where the elevator shaft will surface!
It is the calm before the storm aka Thrive MoCo 2050.
The sign looks exceedingly trashy. I assure you it will not remain.
Not to worry, graffiti artists will embellish it.
Drove by this morning and another piece has been added to the sign that blocks the electrical box.
That symbolizes upward mobility.
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