Exploring Rosslyn-Ballston

Sorry for the month hiatus but I’ve been busy. As part of my plan to build a “competitive advantage” for Montgomery County against Northern Virginia, I decided to do a little corporate espionage. Yesterday on my day off, I braved killer heat to make a planned walk from the Ballston Metro to Rosslyn. Although I have driven through multiple times, I have never taken the time to carefully walk through, taking in the sights and sounds from what is described as a model for urban planning nationally. Before I go through area by area, overall I will say that I am not impressed. Virginians and planners like to brag about “Rosslyn-Ballston” as being a masterfully designed urban community. True, the scale of the development in that corridor is huge, much greater than anything Montgomery County has seen, but it was quantity more than quality.

Ballston

The scale of the development here amazed me. Nearly every block was filled with a 20+ story highrise. But overally, this one disappointed me. Although often compared to Bethesda, I would say it is a bigger version of Silver Spring. The streetscape was poorly designed and maintained. The streets were virtually deserted. Ballston Mall was pretty crappy compared to the other malls in the area and that parking garage is just awful.


Virginia Square

There is very little sense of identity here. Nothing differentiates it from Ballston immediately to the west except the massive FDIC offices. I question whether they should have built a Metro station here. They should work more around the George Mason campus to make it a “college town” sort of atmosphere.

Clarendon

Clarendon Market Commons was the jewel I expected it to be. Not only was the Barnes&Noble a relief from the hot weather, but Market Commons offered some of the finest storefronts, urban design and streetscaping in the entire corridor. I was surprised to learn the FRIT didn’t develop it because it reminded me of Bethesda Row. There were a lot of underdeveloped properties in the area that I expect to seen built up into high-rises in the coming years. But if it means replacing the Clarendon street scene with the Ballston street scene then they shouldn’t touch it.

Court House


I specifically wanted to come here to see the County Office Building, Judicial Center, and Detention Center. These are located in a high-rise complex with a large surface parking lot in the middle. Unlike Fairfax County and Prince Georges County, with their government complexes miles away from the nearest Metro station, Arlington’s sits on top of one. Not much going on at the street level, but busier than Ballston. Lots of high-rises too, and it seems more residential than Ballston.

Rosslyn

What can I say. I’ve been here a million times and I never get tired of coming back. It’s the 70’s-era downtown of the future. Dark Star (Death Star) Park. Awesome cityscape. The various bridges and public plazas/skywalks offer THE most amazing viewpoints of any urban area in the region and great views of the DC skyline. I wonder how Rosslyn will look 10 years from now, considering that most of the buildings are reaching the end of their lives and the whole town is ready for a major makeover.

Finishing up with Rosslyn (and my 3rd bottle of water) I had 3 hours to go qualify for non-rush hour fares, so I headed across Key Bridge to Georgetown and Dupont Circle.

Conclusion: While the scale of Rosslyn-Ballston is awe-inspiring, if Montgomery County is going to replicate such high-density development along the Rockville Pike from Downtown Rockville to White Flint, then they need to look closer to home for successful urban areas. Downtown Bethesda is the region’s finest business district and among the finest places to live. There was no need for me to visit Virginia for fear that they have an advantage. In fact I am now more aware that Montgomery County has the competitive advantage as an urban center.

Overall impressions:
-Subpar streetscaping that is far below the Bethesda standard
-Intersections were wide and pedestrian unfriendly
-During the day it was virtually a ghost town
-Street level retail is very limited
-Dirty streets, poorly maintained sidewalks, streets, and fixtures.
-Buildings were architecturally bland

Poolesville Mystery

While taking a stroll through historic Poolesville, I noticed an odd manhole cover on Elgin Road. It's aparently from Anne Arundel County DPW. Does anyone know why the Town of Poolesville would buy an Anne Arundel cover?

CCT Spur

No one has ever proposed this route, an addition to the CCT. I wrote a letter to Del. Saquib Ali last year detailing my proposal. Here's what its about:

The CCT Spur is designed to enhance ridership on Phase 1 of the CCT, enchance mass transit use, and encourage dense development in the Lakeforest area (which was proposed as Downtown Gaithersburg before the City annexed it and killed any intense development proposals). The Spur would split off the main line at Quince Orchard Road and Christopher Avenue or at the Metropolitan Grove station and cross I-270 and the CSX tracks on its way to a station at Lakeforest Mall. There are discussions underway with regards to the future of the mall and if it should be expanded or remade into a Washingtonian-esque retail center. The Spur would head up Montgomery Village Avenue to terminate at the Village Center, which could also use some major redevelopment. There is right-of-way available for this line and the 1 mile route should cost about $100-150 million. Such a route would offer transit access to the 35,000 people that live in Montgomery Village, where there is minimal office space. It would also significantly increase ridership on Phase 1 of the CCT. The bus routes in this area are so congested that the Lakeforest transit center is now the busiest non-Metro transit center in Montgomery County and the County is building a new transit center on Club House Road at the Village Center.

CCT Phase 1

The first phase of the CCT is from Shady Grove to Metropolitan Grove. This would connect the high-density developments Kentlands, Crown Farm, and Watkins Mill Town Center with Metro and MARC. Intersecting with the Shady Grove Station, the route would follow the extra-wide median of King Farm Boulevard pictured here, with a station at King Farm Village Center and span over the I-270/Shady Grove interchange. Running on elevated tracks in a redesigned Fields Road median it would divert through the proposed Crown Farm development, where high-rise residential would be concentrated around the future station. A parking garage built by the developer is planned to serve the station.


The CCT would then proceed down Decoverly Drive with a station at the DANAC/Styles Corporate Campus, which is currently adding a large amount of office space. This is the closest station to the Shady Grove Life Sciences Center and massive (but incomplete) JHU Belward Research Campus. A local shuttle bus that makes a loop through the surrounding office parks, University of Maryland, and Fallsgrove would be very helpful in increasing transit options in this auto-oriented area. Next the route makes a right onto Great Seneca Highway (MD 119) where it parallels for some distance to the Kentland/MedImmune/Quince Orchard Park area.

Arriving at Orchard Ridge Boulevard, it veers diagonally through an undeveloped area with the proposed station next to the MedImmune Campus. The City of Gaithersburg and Kentlands residents are pushing to reroute along Kentlands Boulevard, but the Mass Transit Administration refuses, citing right-of-way issues and the added time spent in the relentless gridlock on Kentland Boulevard. There is talk of a pedestrian or bus-only overpass of MD 119 linking the station to Kentlands.


The CCT turns onto Quince Orchard Road (MD 124) and proceed next to NIST and the office park on its way to Metropolitan Grove. Phase 1 ends at a station and a short extension to the proposed massive railcar storage/maintenance yard near the Watkins Mill Town Center/Casey West development. Two high-rise towers are proposed to site right next to the station, which is complexed with the existing MARC station. Development is already underway in the area and a programmed extension of Watkins Mill Road across I-270 (and an interchange) is partially under construction by the developer.

The project timeline is as follows:
Jan/Feb 2008 Alternatives Analysis/Environment Assessment Document completed
Winter 2007/2008 Public Meetings in Montgomery and Frederick Counties
Summer 2008 Locally Preferred Alternative Selected
Summer 2008 Request Federal transit funding through the "New Starts" Program
2012 Construction Start Date – contingent on funding
2015 Construction Completed (estimated)

Estimated Capital Costs:

MODE PHASE 1 – Shady Grove to Metropolitan Grove
Bus Rapid Transit $320 M
Light Rail Transit $521 M

MODE Phase 2 – Metropolitan Grove to COMSAT
Bus Rapid Transit $528 M
Light Rail Transit $853 M

Build the CCT!

There will be many more posts on the CCT to come, but this is a shout out to get this needed light rail built, and SOON! In case you are short on details (believe me, we all are) the CCT, or Corridor Cities Transitway, is a bus or light rail connection that will ultimately link the Shady Grove Metro station with Clarksburg. The Planning Board published this map of the route. Much of the route (about 60%) has been preserved (notice those extra-wide medians on King Farm Boulevard and Crystal Rock Drive?) and is publicly owned right-of-way that will not plow through neighborhoods. Several segments are under debate as is the location of the rail yard and the mode (bus or light rail). The County has voiced strong preference for light rail and as the project would be divided up into phases, the first phase would extend to Metropolitan Grove. Unfortunately this project is being held up by the Governor and it may be 2015 or later before we seen any groundbreakings.

One of the design flaws that was not forseen by planners is that it takes far too long for commuters heading from the upper reaches of the line to get to Shady Grove. The CCT snakes through office parks, diverting to Kentlands instead of directly to Shady Grove. It may end up being faster to drive to Shady Grove than take the train. This will dramatically reduce its ridership. What the planned route does do is link major population centers within the Upcounty, offering an attractive alternative to driving shorter distances.

COMING UP: There are several modifications to the CCT design that I suggest to improve the overall mass transit network in Montgomery County.

Go Upper Montgomery County!

Hello residents of Upper Montgomery County. I started this blog because I am fed up with how elected officials in Montgomery County are subservient to downcounty interests and continue to neglect our needs. Upcounty schools rank far below their downcounty counterparts. The Germantown Library was held up by a pattern of incompetence that would not be permissible in Rockville. Relief to County commuters in the form of mass transit is an idea of the future, with virtually every County leader prioritizing the controversial and routeless Purple Line ahead of the CCT. And the worst case of mistreatment by the County: the “Clarksgate” scandal where developers were given the go ahead by planning officials to violate approved plans.

In the coming days, weeks, and months I will post about developments, issues, and miscellaneous comments about the Upcounty. I hope to engage the community, from Clarksburg to Germantown to Gaithersburg and Damascus, to understand some of the issues facing the area. Go Upper MoCo!