tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22305958.post5251749411509779537..comments2024-03-25T18:50:15.135-04:00Comments on DCmud - The Urban Real Estate Digest of Washington DC: Parking Fuels Anger in BethesdaKenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08295461340042242438noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22305958.post-17768881649918252742009-12-03T16:40:04.373-05:002009-12-03T16:40:04.373-05:00when I meet people in bethesda for dinner on a fri...when I meet people in bethesda for dinner on a friday or saturday night i am always shocked by how long it takes me to get to the metro from my house...we're talking an hour or sometimes even more. if this development is going to reach its potential then access for EVERYONE to metro is a MUST. do we need a line on every street in the entire DC area? i don't know, but the red, orange, yellow, blue, green, silver, and purple lines aren't enough. driving isn't for everyone.IMGophhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10389077782536090328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22305958.post-27102169936348188792009-12-03T16:36:28.013-05:002009-12-03T16:36:28.013-05:00As someone who has grown up in Bethesda and works ...As someone who has grown up in Bethesda and works literally right across the street from this proposed site I can tell you that this parking garage is essential to the further growth and prosperity of downtown Bethesda. As it is it is nearly impossible to find a space in that lot, the Elm street garage, or on the street surrounding that area during the weekday. On the weekends or evenings when people are walking around and shopping, dining, etc. It just flat out is impossible. I'm fortunate enough to have a space in a corporate garage there provided by my company but when I meet people in Bethesda for dinner on a Friday or Saturday night I am always shocked by how long it takes them to find parking...we're talking an hour or sometimes even more. If this development is going to reach its potential then parking is a MUST. Does it have to be 5 levels and 1100 spaces? I don't know but 300 isn't enough. The metro isn't for everyone.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22305958.post-22343447106252248812009-12-03T15:52:51.725-05:002009-12-03T15:52:51.725-05:00Making this building accessible only to those comi...Making this building accessible only to those coming by Metro would only work if those of us who work, dine, and shop in Bethesda lived anywhere near Metro. Many of us do not and therefore the parking is essential to us. I suspect that many people only come to Bethesda to shop, dine or go to the movies and that they have the same issue. The parking is essential.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22305958.post-61523472371813644322009-12-03T15:46:43.873-05:002009-12-03T15:46:43.873-05:00KILL THE PARKING GARAGE! Its insane. $80k/space?...KILL THE PARKING GARAGE! Its insane. $80k/space?! If you financed that space at 6% that would be $500 per month. Makes no sense. People should walk.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22305958.post-70361090379906297462009-12-03T08:32:49.206-05:002009-12-03T08:32:49.206-05:00Part of the problem is that many people feel (with...Part of the problem is that many people feel (with some justification) that on-street parking and surface parking lots are safer than parking ramps (or worse, <i>five-level, underground</i> parking ramps), so there's a prospect that the proposed facility will be underused.<br /><br />In any case, it looks to me like both sides are holding to unrealistic positions. Given the large, rich, and growing 'hinterland' of downtown Bethesda, congestion and continuing increases in the concentration of people and cars is inevitable, and it's going to get worse, no matter what. I think the important thing is to design for livability in a dense environment. If this means spending some of the garage money on improving street life, without pretending that we're really all longing for a rural idyll, I'd be for it.MattFnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22305958.post-5502361466167587832009-12-02T20:41:18.410-05:002009-12-02T20:41:18.410-05:00it would have helped to mention that the big probl...it would have helped to mention that the big problem that those protesting this have is that part of the justification for the parking was an assumption that <i>more</i> people will drive to bethesda once the purple line opens. seems very counterintuitive.IMGophhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10389077782536090328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22305958.post-5962932855368175912009-12-02T14:58:23.209-05:002009-12-02T14:58:23.209-05:00Wasteful parking lot, great above-ground developme...Wasteful parking lot, great above-ground development.Critically Urbanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18184976993311486195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22305958.post-2186480457826848922009-12-02T10:01:35.769-05:002009-12-02T10:01:35.769-05:00For the record, Hoffman-Archstone is not getting r...For the record, Hoffman-Archstone is not getting rid of the bike trail. In fact there would be several amenities added to the trail for improvement.Kenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08295461340042242438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22305958.post-50602663941378951882009-12-02T09:58:50.704-05:002009-12-02T09:58:50.704-05:00i rent an apartment right there and i see the acti...i rent an apartment right there and i see the action. in my mind, that lot is the one nice breath of fresh air and space that exists in bethesda row. people also forget that you have the capital crescent trail right where bikers, joggers, walkers, etc, congregate. so what happens to that??? honestly, i'd rather see them turn that area into an open space than place more building, parking and unnecessary junk there. i'm not saying that because i rent there. if i owned there maybe i'd be more biased. i just don't think the extra parking is worth adding more cluster to an area. but that's just me. i value elbow room.Alex Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02398846048311070839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22305958.post-69066790804319658022009-12-02T09:44:11.303-05:002009-12-02T09:44:11.303-05:00In many neighborhoods such as downtown Bethesda or...In many neighborhoods such as downtown Bethesda or U Street, there is free curbside parking or free parking available in municipal garages on weekends yet demand for parking is often highest during the evening or weekend periods because of the high concentration of retail and entertainment amenities. This subsidy to drivers discourages transit use at exactly those times when the amount of congestion may be the greatest in these neighborhoods. Charging market-based prices for parking during these periods will encourage some drivers to shift to transit instead, reducing the need for this wasteful 1,100 space garage.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com