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Questions for my new neighbors - Purple Line - Chevy Chase Lake Development
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Anonymous
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We just moved to the area (North Chevy Chase) and have been seeing signs and getting newsletters regarding the development of the Chevy Chase Lake area as part of the purple line. Is the purple line a sure thing? Is Chevy Chase Lake the intersection of Connecticut and Manor? Are they really planning to turn that area into a Bethesda Row like development, which is what this link I was sent seemed to imply was the concensus?
http://www.montgomeryplanning.org/community/chevychaselake |
Anonymous
| There are folks - some members of the county council, developers like the Chevy Chase Land Company and others - that want to urbanize lower Montgomery County and build expensive transit systems like the Purple Line (or as council chair Nancy Floreen calls it, the "snazzy" Purple Line). Doing this requires raising taxes (last week the head of the Chamber of Commerce recommended an $800 tax increase to pay for these projects). On the other hand, there are some folks - Friends of the Capital Crescent Trail, included - that want to preserve park land, open space and the current quality of life. They believe in smarter transportation options like bus rapid transit (that would be cost a third of light rail for the Purple Line), fixing the Metro system first and keeping our current roads in a state of good repair. The planning department historically has answered to the county council - and no-one else. Some people think that's changing, but that's up in the air. The recent workshop on the Chevy Chase Lake Sector Plan was shameful, as it asked residents to pick from among five photos of urbanized landscapes which one was the best. Of course, there wasn't a blade of grass in any of the photos. You can learn more about this and other issues at www.savethetrail.org. |
Anonymous
| My error. That should be an $800 million tax increase, not $800. |
Anonymous
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Hi new neighbor! We live on the border of North Chevy Chase and have a very different perspective from the PP. We support the Purple Line precisely for the same reason s/he opposes it - quality of life. Traffic is insane right now, and it's going to get worse when the BRAC implementation goes into full force this summer. We desperately need better options for moving people around this area, and it's totally ridiculous to oppose using the train right-of-way that was purchased precisely for this purpose in favor of putting giant smelly buses on residential streets that are already totally clogged with commuter traffic.
Don't let the PP or anyone else sell you the bill of goods that the PL debate is greedy developers vs. nature-loving residents. It's actually a case of many interests (including residents and state transportation planners, but yes also presumably including developers) vs. the very privileged, wealthy residents of the Town of CC and the fancy country club that lies just north of EW Highway. The town and the country club have spent lots of money trying to fight the PL, and have consistently derided anyone who supports it as a "developer." It's bogus. Luckily it's also failed - at every stage of the planning process, light rail has won out, and at this stage the rapid bus line is basically out of contention (although I'm sure the Town of CC and others are still trying to sue etc. to prevent it.) The bike trail will remain, fwiw. Btw, there are lots of genuinely local efforts to move the planning process overall for this area in a positive direction. There is a lot happening that is mostly disconnected right now - long-term plans for hte PL, MoCo's sectoral development planning process (which includes a focus on CC Lake, as you mention) and also some thinking about how to deal with BRAC impact for all these neighborhoods. But all those of us who live here need to get more engaged and try to ensure that we find real solutions to the worsening traffic while maintaining the livability of these neighborhoods. Unfortunately to date the better funded, better organized residents of the "snazzier" parts of CC MD have done a better job of lobbying for their interests than we have. |
Anonymous
| np here. Can someone quickly explain what the BRAC impact is predicted to be for that immediate area? What is the driver? |
Anonymous
They are moving Walter Reed to the Naval Hospital-- I think it's something like 2-3,000 new jobs and an expected doubling of hospital visitors for the Naval hospital. |
Anonymous
| Sorry, what is the BRAC? |
Anonymous
What about the Chevy Chase Land Company? They have been very successful in lobbying for the Purple Line, as they own all the land at Chevy Chase Lake. And, kind of funny you use the words "snazzier", "privileged" and "wealthy" when describing the opponents who would like to keep their bike trail. Don't those words more adequately describe the Chevy Chase Land Company whose last big development is the Tiffany, Cartier and Gucci on Wisconsin?? |
Anonymous
| The Chevy Chaxe Land Company is so far into the pockets of the County. David Smith has done a great job of getting each and every member of the council and the county exec in his pocket. They are the ones who refurbished the railroad bridge on the trail-no they didn't just refurbish it, they made it so it would support a transit system. It comes down to greed, the pruple line will not stop the traffic, it wil not help the BRAC issue, it will not help the people who want it or the people who are against it. Who will it help? Chevy Chase Land Company, Until the builders stop building, traffic will not get any better. |
Anonymous
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The Purple Line has been on the books for decades. It is why the County purchased the old Georgetown rail line that runs through Chevy Chase, Bethesda and is now the Capital Crescent Trail.
This is not a trail versus rail argument. The County has options that include both. However it is the monied residents of Chevy Chase and the Golf Club that have been fighting this. I mean, who buys a house near a school and fights the school? Who buys a house adjacent to a rial right of way and then fight it? I guess it is the same people who buy a house near an airport and then complain about plane noise. Anyhow, this is a major transportation facility that is sorely needed. It can connect the inner Montgomery County communities, get thousands of cars of the roads and reduce the emissions and congestion tremendously. Perhaps one day, there will be an extension of the DC Streetcar system out Connecticut Avenue so that Kensington, Wheaton, Chevy Chase Lake, Chevy Chase DC all feed into Van Ness or Dupont Circle. With rising energy prices, we need to invest in our communities in a sustainable manner. The Purple Line is one small piece of this thinking. |
Anonymous
| They have been talking about developing that piece of Chevy Chase Lake since my family moved near there when I was a child. In 1967. I'll believe it when I see it. Long live the Chevy Chase Supermarket! |
Anonymous
| BRAC is the Base Realignment and Closure, the bill where congress decided to close Walter Reed and increase the number of employees at Bethesda Naval Hospital (which I believe will be renamed). |
Anonymous
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Light rail won't actually help with congestion in part because it will articulate poorly with Metrorail. The Purple Line as proposed will increase traffic on Connecticut Avenue and around Chevy Chase Lake because the county proposes to allow high-density commercial development there at the behest of the Chevy Chase Land Company.
Think of Tyson's Corner. |
Anonymous
They are also moving DISA (?) from Arlington to FT. Meade and something else in MD to VA. I can't remember what. |
Anonymous
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/07/AR2011020702954.html |