Bethesda Actually

Just finished looking at an interesting piece in the Gazette that noted an effort by the County to increase the size of hotels allowed in Bethesda. Apparently there is a feeling that factors including the base realignment will conspire to create a strain on our current capacity. What do you think? Do we need large hotels in Bethesda?

Here is a nice profile of one of the candidates for the Maryland House of Delegates (District 16 – Bethesda).

“….one of his top priorities if elected would be to prioritize mass transit, including strong support for the Purple Line light rail project proposed for Montgomery and Prince George’s counties.”

Feel free to send in other profiles you think should be posted here.

Friends, just thought this would be of interest:

Candidates for Planning Board Chair Answer Probing Questions

The four remaining candidates for chair of the Montgomery County Planning Board have responded to a questionnaire issued by the Action Committee for Transit.  The full text of the answers is posted online on ACT’s website:

http://actfortransit.org/archives/positions/2010May04CanPlanBoardChair.html
Topics covered in the questionnaire include the Purple Line, transit-oriented development, and Planning Board policies that favor driving over transit, walking, and bicycling.

Folks, as you know we really don’t like to get political on this blog. We are much more comfortable discussing the farmers market or happy hour or art exhibits or charity events.

However on this warm Thursday evening in May we cannot stand by without noting our humble opposition to the terrible damage Montgomery County Head Isiah Leggett is inflicting on our wonderful Bethesda library.

Not content with with the cuts he has forced in library services, hours etc. that have already harmed the library and, crucially, the community it serves, Leggett is now looking to squeeze a few more dollars out of it by forcing library patrons to pay for parking.

Further, the Washington Post reports that Leggett is also looking to cut other library services across the county to gather a few more dollars:

Other library-related cuts proposed April 22 include the elimination of several positions and reductions in materials and other expenses, such as interpreting services for the deaf and hard of hearing.

What pols like Leggett don’t seem to understand is that libraries are a valuable cornorstone of the community that are really, really important to lots of people including folks who may not be able to come up with a few dollars a day for parking while using the services.

Who might be negatively impacted by parking charges? For starters there are those who are job hunting and are using the library as a base. Also impacted are families on tight budgets who use the library as a place to instill the gift of reading in their kids. Another impacted group is seniors  - many use the library to relax and read (in particular when the temperature outside is too hot or cold) Do we really need to squeeze a few dollars out of them? Surely we can do better?

We know that transit issues in and around Bethesda can cause tension and disagreement but we feel that we need to share the various positions on these issues with the Bethesda Actually community. So, in that spirit, please find below a release from the Action Committee for Transit slamming new Ride-On cutbacks:

Read the rest of this entry »

As readers of this blog know we like the smart growth strategy that has been developed to regenerate/ green and generally improve Bethesda “north” aka White Flint @ Rockville Pike.

The NYT has a nice feature outlining the project on their site at the moment. It doesn’t provide many new details but captures the general parameters and challenges of the effort. Well worth a read….

Image via www.bronrott.com

Bill Bronrott, one of Bethesda’s delegates to the House of Delegates is leaving his post to take up a new job with the Obama administration. The Washington Post has a few more details on their blog. The question I have concerns his replacement. Who will that be and how can we ensure the field includes the most talented folks available?

Bethesda Actually has received the following press release detailing the findings of a recent poll, showing that a majority of DC metro area residents favor focussing on public transit over expanding roads, in order to reduce traffic congestion.  Since Montgomery County residents were included in the poll, we decided to post the press release in full:

The public overwhelmingly favors a massive reversal of current transportation priorities, today’s Washington Post transportation poll shows. 62% of Metro area residents said that efforts to reduce traffic congestion should focus on trains, buses, and other public transportation.  Only 30% said the focus should be on building and expanding roads. Read the rest of this entry »

Nice work by local Bethesda delegate Frosh who is pushing a bill through the state legislature that would allow agri-producers to sell their goods at state right of way spots in the County. Read the rest of this entry »

Earlier this week I was getting pretty frustrated with the slow speed of the metro between Bethesda and Friendship Heights — we were inching along at a painfully slow pace. I was also irritated by the fact that there was no announcement made on my train to let passengers know what was happening. Now, it seems that (a) we have some answers and (b) the problem is being addressed.  Please see this metro press release for more details:

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