tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30306615.post116129190330914556..comments2024-02-28T11:29:36.860-05:00Comments on just up the pike: it's the thought that countsDan Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10594208011755406956noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30306615.post-1162400991117830292006-11-01T12:09:00.000-05:002006-11-01T12:09:00.000-05:00Your assertions about Montgomery County residents ...Your assertions about Montgomery County residents are unfounded. There are over a dozen Metro stations in this county, including Silver Spring, which has the highest ridership <B>in the state</B>. Home price near Metro stops are ridiculously high. You think that's just due to the schools? Not quite.<BR/><BR/>And I'm curious what you're inferring by saying MoCo residents are avoiding mandatory busing. I know <B>you</B> get queasy seeing all the "undesirables" in our schools (they come from Briggs Chaney and White Oak, right? In all those "disastrous" apartments, right?) but I get the feeling most MoCo residents aren't so worried.Dan Reedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10594208011755406956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30306615.post-1162400284963032372006-11-01T11:58:00.000-05:002006-11-01T11:58:00.000-05:00> Mr. Zilliacus - I like how you > keep beating th...> Mr. Zilliacus - I like how you <BR/>> keep beating the hell out of <BR/>> that one example when there <BR/>> are so many communities (such <BR/>> as our own Silver Spring) <BR/>> that have embraced Smart <BR/>> Growth and have flourished.<BR/><BR/>Not one example - <B>three master <BR/>plan areas</B> and <B>thousands</B> <BR/>of residents. And the bad <BR/>results of the 1981 Master Plan <BR/>and its misplaced emphasis on residential densification and <BR/>mass transit remain - consider <BR/>Castle Boulevard in Fairland <BR/>and Stewart Lane in White Oak <BR/>for starters.<BR/><BR/>As for Smart Growth having <BR/>"flourished," then perhaps you <BR/>can explain the steady exodus <BR/>of employment from Silver <BR/>Spring since 1978, when <BR/>the Metrorail Red Line <BR/>arrived?<BR/><BR/>High-tech employers that have <BR/>moved away (frequently to <BR/>Fairfax County or other <BR/>suburban locations) such as <BR/>Orkand Corp. (a Silver Spring original), Vitro, Computer <BR/>Sciences Corp. (they used to <BR/>own the large building on the <BR/>west side of Colesville Road <BR/>between Fenton and Cameron <BR/>Streets).<BR/><BR/>> Okay, so East County couldn't <BR/>> do it the first time around. <BR/>> That was 25 years ago - the <BR/>> circumstances have changed <BR/>> dramatically. <BR/><BR/>In what ways?<BR/><BR/>> It wouldn't hurt to try again.<BR/><BR/>You can destroy <B>your own</B> <BR/>neighborhood with row after <BR/>row of garden apartments if <BR/>you like - Fairland residents <BR/>are now always on the alert when <BR/>it comes to proposals from <BR/>the Sierra Club or the Coalition <BR/>for Smarter Growth or <BR/>Environmental Defense to <BR/>further densify our <BR/>neighborhoods. I think it's safe<BR/>to say that most residents of<BR/>Montgomery County are here for the following reasons:<BR/><BR/>It's suburban.<BR/>It has a relatively decent school system.<BR/>It has no compulsory school busing for racial integration.<BR/>It's not the District of Columbia.<BR/>It's (in relative terms) affordable.<BR/><BR/>Most residents of the county are <BR/><I>not</I> here for Smart <BR/>Growth - nor do a vast majority <BR/>of them take mass transit - and <BR/>a Purple Line is not likely <BR/>to change that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30306615.post-1162257340846261752006-10-30T20:15:00.000-05:002006-10-30T20:15:00.000-05:00Mr. Zilliacus - I like how you keep beating the he...Mr. Zilliacus - I like how you keep beating the hell out of that one example when there are so many communities (such as our own Silver Spring) that have embraced Smart Growth and have flourished.<BR/><BR/>Okay, so East County couldn't do it the first time around. That was 25 years ago - the circumstances have changed dramatically. It wouldn't hurt to try again.Dan Reedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10594208011755406956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30306615.post-1162255560641025532006-10-30T19:46:00.000-05:002006-10-30T19:46:00.000-05:00thecourtyard, are you aware of the (catastrophic) ...thecourtyard, are you aware of the (<B>catastrophic</B>) <I>1981 Eastern Montgomery County Master Plan</I>? It covered Cloverly, Fairland and White Oak.<BR/><BR/>It was about "reducing auto <BR/>dependency." It was "based on <BR/>a concept of transit <BR/>serviceability" (this was before <BR/>the term Smart Growth had been invented). It was about <BR/>"preserving" the Montgomery <BR/>County Ag Preserve.<BR/><BR/><B>It was also a total, complete <BR/>failure.</B> It was so bad that the<BR/>M-NCP&PC and the County Council had to admit failure and pass a trip reduction amendment less than 10 years after the 1981 Plan was approved.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30306615.post-1161420051377825882006-10-21T04:40:00.000-04:002006-10-21T04:40:00.000-04:00Not only does this story is completely anti-growth...Not only does this story is completely anti-growth biased but also displays discrimative hatred towards economic/business growth and Upscale Development for the state of Maryland in favor for more federal spending for intense development, economic/business/job growth, and Highways/Rapid Transportation building in Northern Virginia.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com