Bethesda Row after the Purple Line Opens?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:11 billion dollars for a train as slow as a bus!

I mean, it's not.

But yes, the Purple Line should have cost much, much, much less. And it would have cost much, much, much less, if not for

1. the ICC
2. Robert Ehrlich's delays
3. lobbying by the Columbia Country Club and the Town of Chevy Chase
4. frivolous lawsuits by Chevy Chase residents
5. an objectively terrible judge who sat on one of the frivolous lawsuits
6. Larry Hogan's gross mismanagement

Opponents of the Purple Line have only themselves to blame for the high cost of the Purple Line.

I’ll be aiming my tee shot from CCC each time I see this useless European light rail piece of crap pass by.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:11 billion dollars for a train as slow as a bus!

I mean, it's not.

But yes, the Purple Line should have cost much, much, much less. And it would have cost much, much, much less, if not for

1. the ICC
2. Robert Ehrlich's delays
3. lobbying by the Columbia Country Club and the Town of Chevy Chase
4. frivolous lawsuits by Chevy Chase residents
5. an objectively terrible judge who sat on one of the frivolous lawsuits
6. Larry Hogan's gross mismanagement

Opponents of the Purple Line have only themselves to blame for the high cost of the Purple Line.

I’ll be aiming my tee shot from CCC each time I see this useless European light rail piece of crap pass by.

And I will publicly organize support for the seizure of even more CCC land using eminent domain. I think we need new school capacity in MoCo and and that property has an accessible location.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:11 billion dollars for a train as slow as a bus!

I mean, it's not.

But yes, the Purple Line should have cost much, much, much less. And it would have cost much, much, much less, if not for

1. the ICC
2. Robert Ehrlich's delays
3. lobbying by the Columbia Country Club and the Town of Chevy Chase
4. frivolous lawsuits by Chevy Chase residents
5. an objectively terrible judge who sat on one of the frivolous lawsuits
6. Larry Hogan's gross mismanagement

Opponents of the Purple Line have only themselves to blame for the high cost of the Purple Line.

I’ll be aiming my tee shot from CCC each time I see this useless European light rail piece of crap pass by.

You mean inferior American Light Rail. The European rail transit systems are most always much faster, separated from traffic, and don’t have cost delays and overruns. US typically builds on the cheap, so the Purple Line will share the road beyond Silver Spring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bethesda Row is already easily accessible by metro, and it hasn't caused major issues. I think Bethesda doesn't have what the "bad people" are looking for. The shopping, nightlife, and retail appeal only to certain demographics.

The places that will be worse as a result of the purple line are commercial areas that are currently not accessible by metro, which now will be much easier to access.

I hope you are right.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This may sounds bad, but I am not looking forward to the Purple Line opening. Bethesda Row is already congested with people and Purple line will make it exponentially worse.

I also worry we'll see a lot more crime and bad people. BR is, at present, a pretty safe, wealthy enclave where teens can roam freely without worry. Sure there's crime, but it's mostly not locals. We've all seen the Nike Store robbery videos. Purple line will be low cost transit for people in lower income areas and that isn't always a great combination.

It's also a giant waste of public money, but I guess that ship has sailed. Ugh. Just wish it wasn't happening.

Also, poor Tacombi with that hideous construction plaza blocking all foot traffic for years on end. I hope they are getting a rent concession.

If you play your cards correctly you could be the next downtown silver spring

That’s what the County wants, but seriously, no plans to bring a decent movie theatre to Bethesda. We just have the small arty one, which is probably a good thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Flood the zone with police, patrol aggressively, and let the criminals know that they will not be welcome.

Who’s going to do that? Seriously. I agree but seriously?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This may sounds bad, but I am not looking forward to the Purple Line opening. Bethesda Row is already congested with people and Purple line will make it exponentially worse.

I also worry we'll see a lot more crime and bad people. BR is, at present, a pretty safe, wealthy enclave where teens can roam freely without worry. Sure there's crime, but it's mostly not locals. We've all seen the Nike Store robbery videos. Purple line will be low cost transit for people in lower income areas and that isn't always a great combination.

It's also a giant waste of public money, but I guess that ship has sailed. Ugh. Just wish it wasn't happening.

Also, poor Tacombi with that hideous construction plaza blocking all foot traffic for years on end. I hope they are getting a rent concession.

Can you explain how you think the Purple Line will be different from the transit line that already stops in Bethesda, the Red Line, or from the bus lines that already go there?

1. The direct links beyond College Park are to higher crime areas.
2. Light rail nationally is known for crime.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t disagree that the Purple Line will slowly decay Bethesda row. The local governments are hell bent on creating an urban dystopia at the expense of equity.

I really wish Bethesda would incorporate so we could better control our own issues. Where has public transit made a community more safe? Tenley is in an affluent area and it’s an absolute sh*tshow. The areas surrounding the metro are foul and littered with trash, homeless beggars and delinquent kids

That’s because of the nearby psychiatric hospital, not the metro. I mean think about it for 5 seconds. How are you people so dumb

Huh? Please clarify.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Statistically speaking it will likely bring some increase in crime given that the metro will increase the daytime/evening population
in Bethesda. So this would cause per capita crime to go up potentially because people spending time in Bethesda, but not living there will not be counted as residents even though they spend more time there. If you adjust for people hours (including both residents and visitors) it’s possible the actual crime rate will stay the same. Not enough unbiased research on how public transportation impacts local crime. It’s very possible could have no effect or increase crime significantly

Some cops (now retired) thought it would increase crime. I believe them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:there needs to be more patrol officers around town.

More police presence = lower crime. There is no denying that.

Are they going to get out of their cars, or just sit in their cars?

They should be walking around. Many of them could use the exercise!

It doesn't take much to deter a group of 14yr olds from looting Nike..

Just the other day on Arlington Rd I saw a swarm of delinquents sprint across the street and cuss out an old man for no reason in the middle of the day.

Did you report them? I hope so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This may sounds bad, but I am not looking forward to the Purple Line opening. Bethesda Row is already congested with people and Purple line will make it exponentially worse.

I also worry we'll see a lot more crime and bad people. BR is, at present, a pretty safe, wealthy enclave where teens can roam freely without worry. Sure there's crime, but it's mostly not locals. We've all seen the Nike Store robbery videos. Purple line will be low cost transit for people in lower income areas and that isn't always a great combination.

It's also a giant waste of public money, but I guess that ship has sailed. Ugh. Just wish it wasn't happening.

Also, poor Tacombi with that hideous construction plaza blocking all foot traffic for years on end. I hope they are getting a rent concession.

If you play your cards correctly you could be the next downtown silver spring

That’s what the County wants, but seriously, no plans to bring a decent movie theatre to Bethesda. We just have the small arty one, which is probably a good thing.

Bethesdans and Chevy Chevy Chase-ites can easily hop on the Purple Line for movies at the AMC megaplex at Silver Spring or perhaps a night of retro flicks at the AFI Silver Theater. The county just needs to make the sidewalks more pedestrian friendly along busy Colesville Rd and Georgia Avenue with all those lanes of traffic barreling along at all hours. And walking along the blank “brutalist” wall of the former Discover HQ to the Silver Theater is a soul crushing “deer in the headlights” feeling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if the "karens" on this thread understand that someone who has just committed a crime is not going to then head to a train and wait for it, and then get on it as their "getaway?"

Some of them actually do. There are multiple times that a criminal has used the Tyson’s metro to escape after committing a crime.

+1 Plus there will be crime on the Purple Line itself. Look at other regional light rail systems for examples.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This may sounds bad, but I am not looking forward to the Purple Line opening. Bethesda Row is already congested with people and Purple line will make it exponentially worse.

I also worry we'll see a lot more crime and bad people. BR is, at present, a pretty safe, wealthy enclave where teens can roam freely without worry. Sure there's crime, but it's mostly not locals. We've all seen the Nike Store robbery videos. Purple line will be low cost transit for people in lower income areas and that isn't always a great combination.

It's also a giant waste of public money, but I guess that ship has sailed. Ugh. Just wish it wasn't happening.

Also, poor Tacombi with that hideous construction plaza blocking all foot traffic for years on end. I hope they are getting a rent concession.

Move to Great Falls, Falls Church, Rockville or Gaithersburg. You could also rent in Georgetown or Foxhall

I agree with OP - look at Pentagon City Mall. It used to be nice but it's kind of a mess now.

Was just about to post the same thing!

But didn’t it always have metro access, or at least for the past 25 years?

[Anonymous]

As long as Bethesda doesn’t have Primark, H&M, Zara, a Nordstrom, a Rolex store, etc it should be safe from most retail crime and smash and grabs. Young criminals won’t smash n grab at Mon Ami Gami. Now if the Purple Line went all the way to Westfield Montgomery Mall, it’d be a whole different ballgame re crime.

The Purple Line is slow however, unlike Metro, and above ground with visibility from the street. So fleeing via the Purple Line from criminal acts won’t be as easy. Its lack of speed should be a major deterrent. The Red Line is just one block over and offers more cover for criminals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This may sounds bad, but I am not looking forward to the Purple Line opening. Bethesda Row is already congested with people and Purple line will make it exponentially worse.

I also worry we'll see a lot more crime and bad people. BR is, at present, a pretty safe, wealthy enclave where teens can roam freely without worry. Sure there's crime, but it's mostly not locals. We've all seen the Nike Store robbery videos. Purple line will be low cost transit for people in lower income areas and that isn't always a great combination.

It's also a giant waste of public money, but I guess that ship has sailed. Ugh. Just wish it wasn't happening.

Also, poor Tacombi with that hideous construction plaza blocking all foot traffic for years on end. I hope they are getting a rent concession.

Log off. There are plenty of non wealthy residents in Bethesda who need public transport. Also, aren’t we moving towards more sustainable modes of transportation?!

Are there a lot of residents of Bethesda that are dying for public transport? Where are they going?

The staff who serve your coffee want to get to work more easily. Is that such a bad idea? They're coming from the East. They just want to clean your stores and serve your McDonald's. Cut them some slack.

There is no more McDonalds in downtown Bethesda. That was one of the first casualties of redevelopment. Replaced by upscale expensive Chinese restaurant and office tower. The County is coming for our CVS and 7-11 next. It’s ironic - the County allows people to rip down small cottages, replace w McMansions, then give developers incentives to tear down Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing (ie cheap old apartments) in favor of luxury apartments with some MPDUs doled out by the County, which have correlated with a rise in crime - see attempted kidnapping and kids kicking kids heads in after game. Then they get rid of anywhere affordable to eat or shop or get gas. So now Bethesda loses middle income families, gets government-aid dependent and super rich families. County then ponders problem they created and tries its hands at playing socioeconomic chess again, resulting in Missing Middle, ADUs, etc. Meanwhile, higher income tax payers leave to be replaced by lower income people requiring more government resources. Nice job, MoCo!