Wednesday, November 26, 2008

what's up the pike: thanks for something

Well, tomorrow's Thanksgiving, and if you're reading this at all, you're probably doing so from a place that is not East County. JUTP will be on break from posting through Monday, but I'll be busy working on some real exciting stuff for you when you come back from the break. Meantimes, here's a look at what's happening in East County while you're away:

- Not all of County Executive Ike Leggett's proposed budget cuts were passed by the County Council, but a handful of Ride-On routes did make the chopping block. As a result, you'll see reduced service on Route 4 (Silver Spring-Kensington); Route 26 (Glenmont-Montgomery Mall); and Route 18 (Silver Spring-Langley Park).

- A local developer's scaling back his plans to build thirty-six townhomes on a site adjacent to Wheaton Plaza due to complaints about the project's compatibility with the surrounding single-family neighborhood. The three-acre property is currently zoned for only eighteen homes, though its location - at the edge of the Wheaton CBD, fronting University Boulevard West, and within walking distance to Metro and a regional shopping mall - make it an ideal site for higher density. Planning Department staff endorsed the rezoning, despite the Master Plan's recommendations to do otherwise. For more info, check out the Planning Board's staff report (warning! PDF file).

- As always, check out my weekly column in the Diamondback, the University of Maryland's independent student newspaper. This week, I'm talking about the anticlimactic commute home I look forward to for Thanksgiving Break.

- Speaking of College Park: the Purple Line has inspired a public art installation on campus dubbed the "Bridge to Nowhere," consisting of a series of blue posts resembling the supports of an elevated rail line. The piece is one of several appearing throughout the University as part of a new course on civic artwork.

Have a happy Thanksgiving! We'll see you next week.

3 comments:

retgroclk said...

Whenever I read about high density homes and other development I cringe.

The last thing this County
needs is more high density living.
We are squeezing more and more people into smaller areas, adding more cars to the road and creating more and more tension.
Stop already.
Now they are cutting back on some Ride-On routes which will encourage more driving- and they still want to build a Purple Line to alleviate nothing.
What kind of crazies are running this County?

It is time to halt construction, halt County hiring,crack down on illegal aliens,clean up the neighborhoods and go back to a more civil time when people respected each other.

squirrelist said...

retgroclk:

"The last thing this County
needs is more high density living.
We are squeezing more and more people into smaller areas, adding more cars to the road and creating more and more tension."

It depends on where the high density is. High density near solid public transit such as a metro station alleviates congestion since many people will not own a car. By not building high density near the metro, it just means that people will be living further into the suburbs where they will need to drive to get anywhere. The reason the DC area has some of the worst traffic in this country is because DC is low density, thus requiring everyone to live in the suburbs. On the other hand, I think the worse thing is to build high density with access to no public transit (or with only access to irregular transit such as the bus). This puts massive amounts of people on the road.

retgroclk said...

To suggest that because a person lives in a high density area they will not need a car , is to deny reality.

People need cars to do the many chores in their daily life in areas that are not Metro accessible.

Or as in my case- I live a block from the Metro--there are people who suffer from a variety of disabilties and need cars to carry on their daily living situations.
I suffer from pulmonary fibrosis and a heart problem- I must drive everywhere as walking more than 50 feet causes shortness of breath.
I mention this this point for a very good reason.
Throughout my travels, it appears that everything is designed for the ambulatory citizen, and very little consideration is made for the disabled.

While we are on the subject of cars and high density and modern living-- what are those people who live in high rises and garden condos or apartment suppose to do about the future plug in cars.
I would need a 200 foot extension cord for a plug in car- .