Moat around Edgemoor

[Anonymous]

Edgemoor has been like that for years - at least since the 70s as far as I know. I suspect it started because of the traffic related to the Sidwell lower school. Other neighborhoods near downtown Bethesda have similar restrictions. I think the aim is to get people coming for the commercial district to park in the lots. The one right on Bethesda Ave is often full but there are other, somewhat less convenient, lots

Parts of Capitol Hill has major parking restrictions - some sides of the street are resident only and the rest is 2 hour limits until fairly late (10 pm?). That's related to the ballpark.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC isn't restricted like that. You get two free hours. After that you need to have residential parking zone sticker. The parking restrictions usually lapse in the evening anyway. I've heard that some DC 'hoods like Cleveland Park and Tenleytown which are near restaurants and movie theaters want to have a more strict street parking scheme like Bethesda.

Free? Then why am I always paying $4 for my 2 free hours (plus the 30 cent parkmobile charge).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And yes, Edgemoor and the Town and Village of Chevy Chase due east of Wisconsin have been able to construct a moat around them so unwashed mortals cannot drive through on the public streets paid for by public tax dollars out of public coffers.

But those same residents, should they need to go to, say, congested downtown Silver Spring for a gymnastics party, are free to drive and park in the neighborhoods right adjacent to congested commercial Silver Spring. Same for Wheaton.

Only certain demographics get the moat. The rest of residential Montgomery County that also lives near commerce can go screw themselves.

You don't know what you're talking about. I live in Downtown Silver Spring (Bonifant Street) and I need a parking permit.

[Anonymous]

You don't know what you're talking about. I live in Downtown Silver Spring (Bonifant Street) and I need a parking permit.

Are all other drivers prohibited from parking there except permit holders like yourself, at all times?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

You don't know what you're talking about. I live in Downtown Silver Spring (Bonifant Street) and I need a parking permit.

Are all other drivers prohibited from parking there except permit holders like yourself, at all times?

No, there are off hours, and I have a guest permit as well which my nanny uses. But it is typical for neighborhoods near a Metro Stop (Edgemoor, Downtown Silver Spring) to limit parking. Otherwise, we would be overrun by commuter cars.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Other neighborhoods near downtown Btheesda have similar restrictions. I think the aim is to get people coming for the commercial district to park in the lots. The one right on Bethesda Ave is often full but there are other, somewhat less convenient, lots

On some level I guess this is understandable. Areas like Edgemoor seem like very idyllic, tranquil family neighborhoods. 20 years ago downtown Bethesda was still kind of sleepy, but all the development has made Bethesda a real destination, right next door. I do understand how these neighborhoods could get impacted "big time" by all that change -- with cars cutting through and circling for parking and noisy, tipsy barflies coming back to look for their cars late at night.

Still, it can be tough to find parking around Bethesda Row, even in the garages.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC isn't restricted like that. You get two free hours. After that you need to have residential parking zone sticker. The parking restrictions usually lapse in the evening anyway. I've heard that some DC 'hoods like Cleveland Park and Tenleytown which are near restaurants and movie theaters want to have a more strict street parking scheme like Bethesda.

Free? Then why am I always paying $4 for my 2 free hours (plus the 30 cent parkmobile charge).

That would be at parking meters. The streets with the residential permit parking signs tend not to have meters, but do have 2 hr restrictions if you don't have a Zone 1 or other applicable sticker.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

You don't know what you're talking about. I live in Downtown Silver Spring (Bonifant Street) and I need a parking permit.

Are all other drivers prohibited from parking there except permit holders like yourself, at all times?

No, there are off hours, and I have a guest permit as well which my nanny uses. But it is typical for neighborhoods near a Metro Stop (Edgemoor, Downtown Silver Spring) to limit parking. Otherwise, we would be overrun by commuter cars.

Ok, that's not what is being discussed in the OP.

There are parts of Montgomery county where only certain people are allowed to park on public streets at all times.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

You don't know what you're talking about. I live in Downtown Silver Spring (Bonifant Street) and I need a parking permit.

Are all other drivers prohibited from parking there except permit holders like yourself, at all times?

No, there are off hours, and I have a guest permit as well which my nanny uses. But it is typical for neighborhoods near a Metro Stop (Edgemoor, Downtown Silver Spring) to limit parking. Otherwise, we would be overrun by commuter cars.

Ok, that's not what is being discussed in the OP.

There are parts of Montgomery county where only certain people are allowed to park on public streets at all times.

The original post is about the fact that OP was told he needed a "special resident permit to park [in Edgemoor]" You stated it is not that way in Downtown Silver Spring and I said that in fact, it is, and that I attribute that fact to there being a Metro Stop in both neighborhoods. So I don't see that you have a case for your "moat" argument. This is simply a community trying to limit outsiders taking residents' parking spaces.

[Anonymous]

The original post is about the fact that OP was told he needed a "special resident permit to park [in Edgemoor]" You stated it is not that way in Downtown Silver Spring and I said that in fact, it is, and that I attribute that fact to there being a Metro Stop in both neighborhoods. So I don't see that you have a case for your "moat" argument. This is simply a community trying to limit outsiders taking residents' parking spaces.

It's probably more than just Metro stop proximity. It's true that without street parking restrictions, commuters who don't live near Metro would drive in, park all day for free and ride Metro to work. (This happens in a lot DC where the zone parking covers the whole ward, so people in Woodley Park, for example, have get no real RPP benefit when folks from Glover Park can park by Metro all day.) Bethesda office workers might look for free street parking, too. Evenings and weekends, it's a different problem. Bethesda is a restaurant and entertainment district which draws people from a wide area. Some take Metro but a lot drive and need to park. Finally, a lot of condos and apartments have been built in downtown Bethesda, and my guess is most don't have free parking. If a street several blocks away were available for free, that would be attractive to them. I am assuming the Edgemoor restrictions are there for all of these reasons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lots of neighborhoods have street parking that's restricted to residents, not just Edgemoor. Pretty much all of residential DC as well as any neighborhood in MoCo that I can think of. Try paying for a garage next time.

Sorry, I meant any neighborhood NEAR METRO in MoCo that I can think of.

I think this is the case. We are near NIH (Medical Center Metro). There is resident only (or guest pass) restricted parking M-F in our neighborhood.

OP should park in one of the many garages in downtown Bethesda and take the FREE circulator bus if the garage location is not convenient to his/her restaurant of choice. The garage under Bethesda metro is just 2 blocks from Bethesda Row, yet everyone want to park in the Elm Street and Bethesda Ave garages.

[Anonymous]

Downtown Bethesda has 16 strategically placed public garages and surface lots that put you within a short walking distance to your destination.

Many are within a 5-10 min. walk of Bethesda Row.

Auburn and Del Ray Avenue Garage - 747 spaces (there is a free Circulator Bus stop right outside)

Woodmont Avenue and Old Georgetown Road Garage - 990 spaces (4 block walk)

Woodmont Avenue and Edgemoor Lane Garage @ metro station - 937 spaces (3 block walk)

Wisconsin and Cheltenham - 345 spaces (3-4 blocks)

There is no need to be searching for parking in adjacent residential neighborhoods or the local Giant.

(Another option is always to go to restaurants in your own neighborhood or pay for valet parking)

[Anonymous]

The Clarendon area has similar restrictions near the commercial/restaurant district. It's nearly impossible to drive into the nearby residential streets, much less to park on the street there. This seems to be a trend for pricey SFH neighborhoods near destination retail. I would guess more places will follow the template, including in Northwest DC.

[Anonymous]

This seems to be a trend for pricey SFH neighborhoods near destination retail. I would guess more places will follow the template, including in Northwest DC.

I wish. Actually, what I would rather see as someone who lives near Chevy Chase Pavilion, is the blocking off of streets, making a lot of them One Way and Do Not Enter -- just like MoCo has done around Bethesda and esp. near Trader Joes.

It would be delightful to not have to deal with the Bethesda moms, office workers, and Cheesecake Factory lovers bombing down my narrow street at 45 mph.

[Anonymous]

They've done some of that in that area - changes to the intersection behind Chadwick's and another one on the other side of Wisconsin where the Dollhouse museum used to be. So it's not limited to Bethesda, OP.

RE: Chevy Chase Village - I didnt grow up there but I did go to Somerset 30 years ago and had friends who lived there. The cutthrough traffic on Oliver, Grafton and Hesketh was ridiculous because they were all easier ways to get from Wisconsin and Connecticut than Western or Bradley. Those streets were seriously unsafe, so I get what they did there. First speed bumps in the county, I think, and they eliminated Hesketh's access to Wisconsin altogether.