It's been a dog-eat-dog world for the grassy mounds that make up the green space on the promenade at the 8001 Woodmont apartment tower in Bethesda since the building opened. While many expected these grassy hills to be a park-like leisure space for adults and children, once residents started moving in, they quickly became a public restroom for neighborhood dogs, whose owners haven't always collected their canines' deposits. Along with the disgusting reality that the germs in the dog waste don't magically evaporate from the grass even if the solid material is picked up, the lush carpeted lawns became much less inviting to have your kids crawling around on, much less a spot for picnics or outdoor movie screenings.
By the fall of 2022, the building had posted signs begging people to keep their dogs off of the grassy mounds. More recently, fencing was finally put up around the mounds, giving the space a less than pleasant Little Falls Parkway Road Diet Bollards aesthetic. Now, however, all of the verdant grass has been torn out. In its place are scattered tufts of a less-luxurious grass species, and a lot of brown dirt. This has left the promenade temporarily competing with that weird spot at Westbard Square for the Roughest Public Space in Bethesda title.
For those keeping score, the dogs are currently winning.
17 comments:
Related--despite the large signs posted, some people still are using the Bethesda Elementary School playing fields, right next to Arlington Road, as a park for their dogs. Just plain wrong, and indefensible.
Doggybund Montgomery County
Ya know I like dogs, I have owned dogs. I do get tired of people have to walk from their yard to have them pee on my grass. The other de facto dog park is the triangle one toward NIH.
There's dog owners and there are cigarette smokers... And they both are of the same ilk because they always do whatever they want whenever they because of self entitlement acting like society's rules don't apply to them. Same with FedEx & UPS drivers... AND like someone responded to a spot-on post earlier on another thread, damn SCOOTERS!
It looks like the goal is now to cover the mounds with tall natural grasses to discourage dogs reliving themselves on a mowed lawn. I just wish they would add some benches to the plaza.
Why aren't developers required to provide a dog space with every building? So many people have dogs, and the high density of Bethesda means there's no place to "go".
Maybe Bethesda should create more dog friendly areas, and a dog park then. It’s wild how not dog friendly this town is.
Dog Day Aftermath.
Does anyone know if this weird mound of dirt sprinkled with patches of grass was considered a "green space" under the downtown Bethesda development plan for which the builder received any type of tax credit or other incentive? (It has always been a weird space, not for use by anyone.) If so, what a crock!
I've asked before and never gotten an answer.
Thanks for anyone in the know.
We need a $1000 fee per dog
That space was probably part of their required minimum open space per the Downtown Bethesda Sector Plan.
So the county gets to squander even more money, great idea, mo' gubmint!
Free fertilizer feces.
Easy financing, creative spending.
The county does periodic street sweeping, God forbid if you date asked them to trim the overhead tree branches!
5:56 just say you hate everyone and everything it's easier
Every canine deserves a grass backyard to run free and doo door at the home of their master, but you people don't think like that and as apartment dwellers renting, leasing, air b&bing or condo owning, YOU ARE THE PROBLEM!
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