Anonymous wrote:

PP lives in Bethesda

But it doesn't matter because 1 mile is too far for LAZY people to walk to take the Metro or a bus everyday if they have the option of driving. You can say it's not and argue over and over but the reality is born out every single day. So if planners just actually took into account reality, and planned and implemented that way, then things would improve.

FIFY

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Your desire that people would simply bus, walk or bike doesn't make it reality and many people can't or wouldn't use those options. So the choice is actually parking availability OR a thriving urban scene, not the other way around.

Lots and lots of people already bus, walk, and bike. It's not a desire, it's the reality.

Some certainly do. But if Bethesda businesses had to rely on people who bus, bike, or walk, most would close taking the urban vibrancy of the area we both want with it.

Please name two vibrant urban areas in the world that rely on people driving there in cars and parking.

I like how this thread started out with the OP having a microagression about a metro stop not being in their neighborhood and is now about transportation alternatives in Bethesda.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Your desire that people would simply bus, walk or bike doesn't make it reality and many people can't or wouldn't use those options. So the choice is actually parking availability OR a thriving urban scene, not the other way around.

Lots and lots of people already bus, walk, and bike. It's not a desire, it's the reality.

Some certainly do. But if Bethesda businesses had to rely on people who bus, bike, or walk, most would close taking the urban vibrancy of the area we both want with it.

Anonymous wrote:

Your desire that people would simply bus, walk or bike doesn't make it reality and many people can't or wouldn't use those options. So the choice is actually parking availability OR a thriving urban scene, not the other way around.

Lots and lots of people already bus, walk, and bike. It's not a desire, it's the reality.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Free or cheap parking in downtown DC. Pray do tell where that would be? A spot can easily cost $300/month, but people pay that because it is far more convenient than other options.

Seriously, dude. If you want to drive into DC and pay $15 a day to park because it's more convenient for you, then you should do that. Obey the speed limits, stop for pedestrians in crosswalks, don't right-hook bicyclists and scooter riders, and you ought to be fine.

$15 a day is cheap parking, though. My round trip into DC and back on the commuter train costs $12. Lots of people have transit commutes that cost more.

Please pay attention. As has been clear in this discussion, I don't drive all the way to DC because there is a viable parking option in Bethesda that you seem hell bent on taking away. You plainly hate cars and drivers based on your completely non-sequitor PSA about basic driver safety.

I don't hate cars. I mostly get around by driving. All I'm saying is that downtown Bethesda should not be a park-and-ride. It can be a thriving urban place, or it can be a park-and-ride, but it can't be both. I understand that the park-and-ride is convenient for you, personally, but I think that the people in the county in general are better off with a thriving urban place.

So if I and people like me take a bus into Bethesda and then get on metro, Bethesda will be a thriving urban place, but if we drive in and park to get on metro, it becomes a park-and-ride? That makes no sense at all.

In fact, people driving into Bethesad directly helps it be a thriving urban area. At least a couple of days a week, I (and I am sure others) stay in Bethesda for dinner, supporting restaurants which of course are a key component to a thriving urban place. We'll also sometimes go shopping or see a show or movie, further increasing the vibrancy of the area.

Without available parking, much of this economic activity would be lost because, without parking, I and many others would drive to DC - not take a bus to Bethesda as you would prefer because that would significantly increase commute time. That would very much harm the urban vibrancy of Bethesda.

Finally, we've been talking about commuting, but if parking were cut as you wished, it would further damage the vibrancy of the area because it would make it much more difficult for people to get into the area and support the businesses needed for a thriving area. That's why the Bethesda Urban Partnership has made sure to have adequate parking in recent developments. But of course you know better than the actual businesses that help make Bethesda a thriving urban area.

They recognize that the families eating or shopping, the ladies who lunch, and lots of other folks who support the local economy, would not in fact bus, bike, or walk in to town if parking were unavailable, difficult or expensive. They would simply go elsewhere and losing those customers would mean losing businesses, harming the urban vibrancy you seek.

Your desire that people would simply bus, walk or bike doesn't make it reality and many people can't or wouldn't use those options. So the choice is actually parking availability OR a thriving urban scene, not the other way around.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Free or cheap parking in downtown DC. Pray do tell where that would be? A spot can easily cost $300/month, but people pay that because it is far more convenient than other options.

Seriously, dude. If you want to drive into DC and pay $15 a day to park because it's more convenient for you, then you should do that. Obey the speed limits, stop for pedestrians in crosswalks, don't right-hook bicyclists and scooter riders, and you ought to be fine.

$15 a day is cheap parking, though. My round trip into DC and back on the commuter train costs $12. Lots of people have transit commutes that cost more.

Please pay attention. As has been clear in this discussion, I don't drive all the way to DC because there is a viable parking option in Bethesda that you seem hell bent on taking away. You plainly hate cars and drivers based on your completely non-sequitor PSA about basic driver safety.

I don't hate cars. I mostly get around by driving. All I'm saying is that downtown Bethesda should not be a park-and-ride. It can be a thriving urban place, or it can be a park-and-ride, but it can't be both. I understand that the park-and-ride is convenient for you, personally, but I think that the people in the county in general are better off with a thriving urban place.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Free or cheap parking in downtown DC. Pray do tell where that would be? A spot can easily cost $300/month, but people pay that because it is far more convenient than other options.

Seriously, dude. If you want to drive into DC and pay $15 a day to park because it's more convenient for you, then you should do that. Obey the speed limits, stop for pedestrians in crosswalks, don't right-hook bicyclists and scooter riders, and you ought to be fine.

$15 a day is cheap parking, though. My round trip into DC and back on the commuter train costs $12. Lots of people have transit commutes that cost more.

Please pay attention. As has been clear in this discussion, I don't drive all the way to DC because there is a viable parking option in Bethesda that you seem hell bent on taking away. You plainly hate cars and drivers based on your completely non-sequitor PSA about basic driver safety.

Anonymous wrote:

Free or cheap parking in downtown DC. Pray do tell where that would be? A spot can easily cost $300/month, but people pay that because it is far more convenient than other options.

Seriously, dude. If you want to drive into DC and pay $15 a day to park because it's more convenient for you, then you should do that. Obey the speed limits, stop for pedestrians in crosswalks, don't right-hook bicyclists and scooter riders, and you ought to be fine.

$15 a day is cheap parking, though. My round trip into DC and back on the commuter train costs $12. Lots of people have transit commutes that cost more.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^for numbers - there are currently about 23,000 parking spaces in downtown Bethesda, including spaces on the street, county garages, and private garages and surface lots.

That's a whole lot of parking for a whole lot of cars, in an area on top of a Metro station.

Without many of these spots people would drive all the way to work in DC. Because there is parking available in Bethesda, many people use metro for the vast majority of their commute, which is ultimately what you want.

No, it's not ultimately what I want, and it's not ultimately what the county government wants either. It's wasteful and dumb for downtown Bethesda to be a park-and-ride for people's Metro trips to DC.

Then people will be happy to drive all the way to DC. It takes me about the same time either way.

OK, if you want to drive into DC and pay to park there, then you should do that. Keep in mind, though, that DC is increasingly disinclined to make it easy for people to drive into DC, for basically the same reasons.

Boy, I have somehow missed this grand, multi-jurisdiction effort to make driving nearly impossible and prohibitively expensive. It's almost like you are confusing what you wish to be true with what is actually occurring.

You missed the War on Cars? Good for you!

But actually it's not an issue of making driving nearly impossible and prohibitively expensive. It's an issue of designing places for the people who live there, rather than the people who want to drive through there as fast as possible and park for free (or for cheap). We're not there yet, but we're on the way.

Free or cheap parking in downtown DC. Pray do tell where that would be? A spot can easily cost $300/month, but people pay that because it is far more convenient than other options.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^for numbers - there are currently about 23,000 parking spaces in downtown Bethesda, including spaces on the street, county garages, and private garages and surface lots.

That's a whole lot of parking for a whole lot of cars, in an area on top of a Metro station.

Without many of these spots people would drive all the way to work in DC. Because there is parking available in Bethesda, many people use metro for the vast majority of their commute, which is ultimately what you want.

No, it's not ultimately what I want, and it's not ultimately what the county government wants either. It's wasteful and dumb for downtown Bethesda to be a park-and-ride for people's Metro trips to DC.

Then people will be happy to drive all the way to DC. It takes me about the same time either way.

OK, if you want to drive into DC and pay to park there, then you should do that. Keep in mind, though, that DC is increasingly disinclined to make it easy for people to drive into DC, for basically the same reasons.

Boy, I have somehow missed this grand, multi-jurisdiction effort to make driving nearly impossible and prohibitively expensive. It's almost like you are confusing what you wish to be true with what is actually occurring.

You missed the War on Cars? Good for you!

But actually it's not an issue of making driving nearly impossible and prohibitively expensive. It's an issue of designing places for the people who live there, rather than the people who want to drive through there as fast as possible and park for free (or for cheap). We're not there yet, but we're on the way.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^for numbers - there are currently about 23,000 parking spaces in downtown Bethesda, including spaces on the street, county garages, and private garages and surface lots.

That's a whole lot of parking for a whole lot of cars, in an area on top of a Metro station.

Without many of these spots people would drive all the way to work in DC. Because there is parking available in Bethesda, many people use metro for the vast majority of their commute, which is ultimately what you want.

No, it's not ultimately what I want, and it's not ultimately what the county government wants either. It's wasteful and dumb for downtown Bethesda to be a park-and-ride for people's Metro trips to DC.

Then people will be happy to drive all the way to DC. It takes me about the same time either way.

OK, if you want to drive into DC and pay to park there, then you should do that. Keep in mind, though, that DC is increasingly disinclined to make it easy for people to drive into DC, for basically the same reasons.

Boy, I have somehow missed this grand, multi-jurisdiction effort to make driving nearly impossible and prohibitively expensive. It's almost like you are confusing what you wish to be true with what is actually occurring.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^for numbers - there are currently about 23,000 parking spaces in downtown Bethesda, including spaces on the street, county garages, and private garages and surface lots.

That's a whole lot of parking for a whole lot of cars, in an area on top of a Metro station.

Without many of these spots people would drive all the way to work in DC. Because there is parking available in Bethesda, many people use metro for the vast majority of their commute, which is ultimately what you want.

No, it's not ultimately what I want, and it's not ultimately what the county government wants either. It's wasteful and dumb for downtown Bethesda to be a park-and-ride for people's Metro trips to DC.

Then people will be happy to drive all the way to DC. It takes me about the same time either way.

OK, if you want to drive into DC and pay to park there, then you should do that. Keep in mind, though, that DC is increasingly disinclined to make it easy for people to drive into DC, for basically the same reasons.

Anonymous wrote:

You are being ridiculous. The sidewalks aren't narrow. The roads aren't big. There really is no reason walking in downtown Bethesda is difficult. I do it all the time with my young kids without issue.

Wisconsin Avenue, East-West Highway, and Old Georgetown Road are big roads. Maybe you don't notice because it's familiar.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^for numbers - there are currently about 23,000 parking spaces in downtown Bethesda, including spaces on the street, county garages, and private garages and surface lots.

That's a whole lot of parking for a whole lot of cars, in an area on top of a Metro station.

Without many of these spots people would drive all the way to work in DC. Because there is parking available in Bethesda, many people use metro for the vast majority of their commute, which is ultimately what you want.

No, it's not ultimately what I want, and it's not ultimately what the county government wants either. It's wasteful and dumb for downtown Bethesda to be a park-and-ride for people's Metro trips to DC.

Then people will be happy to drive all the way to DC. It takes me about the same time either way.