Comments on: Purple Line tunnel could use second look, experts say

By: Woodsider

Woodsider — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 21:42:55 +0000

LuvMyHood said: The developers who built the beautiful small houses of East Silver Spring were certainly not evil. They left many magnificent trees intact. So, just how many places that look like ESS have been built lately? I see buildings and more buildings and fewer trees all the time.

RE: Surely you don’t believe that developers/builders of those cottages in East Sivler Spring actually saved those trees you see, right? In the 30’s & 40’s when those cottages were built, the builders took the cheapest way out–clearing the land to make it easiest to build and drain the site. There was no protection for those trees lucky enough not to be in the path of construction and many subsequently died from soil disturbance and root compaction. Many/most of the mature trees you see in front yards today were planted by the builders and subsequent owners. They only seem like “old growth forest” because they are now 60-70 years old. Those charming East SS neighborhoods most certainly didn’t look so charming when they were built…there was a whole lot of sun and not much shade.

By: David

David — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 14:00:57 +0000

Thayer-D is correct. Whether were talking about electricity use or our water and sewar systems, it is much more efficient to attract people to live in compact housing in downtown Silver Spring than it would be to accomodate the same number of people in a low-density auto-oriented development (aka sprawl)somewhere else in Montgomery County. As an extreme case, imagine the cost on our infrastructure if the population of Manhattan were to move from their apartments to cul-de-sac neighborhoods. And encouraging development on our existing parking lots and urban spaces allows us to forgo developing on forests or farmland elsewhere (speaking of preserving trees). The challenge is to make compact housing downtown attractive to a range of households. There’s only so much demand to be had from empty nesters and single people.

By: Thayer-D

Thayer-D — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 18:36:57 +0000

“Where would the electricity for 10,000 more residents come from? Where would the sewage go?” I would recomment asking Pepco and Wasa cause by all predictions, Montgomery County is expected to recieve another million people in the next twenty years. It’s not a question of will they fit, but how they fit.

By: LuvMyHood

LuvMyHood — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 17:04:42 +0000

The developers who built the beautiful small houses of East Silver Spring were certainly not evil. They left many magnificent trees intact. So, just how many places that look like ESS have been built lately? I see buildings and more buildings and fewer trees all the time.
Underused lots, huh? Where would the electricity for 10,000 more residents come from? Where would the sewage go?

By: Thayer-D

Thayer-D — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 12:24:58 +0000

There are several reasons for the Purple line, on of the most important is to attract development, that’s why they call it TOD – Transit Oriented Development. The theory being if there is going to be development, it should be build around public transit to minimize the amount of cars we put on the road and farm land we have to pave over. If people stopped obsessing over developers and thought of the people who actually build these developments, they would see they are not all evil.
On the subject of DTSS being full, not by a long shot. There are so many surface parking lots and underused lots that you could probably add another 10,000 people and hardly notice it.
As for affordable housing, the more they build the more affordable housing, supply and demand. Harlem was the result of overbuilding.

By: LuvMyHood

LuvMyHood — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 21:14:48 +0000

Uh, Tdiddy, I thought one of the ever-shifting purposes of the Purple Line was to connect PG and MoCo.
I remember Councilmember George Leventhal telling a local group,”Now, now, we have to make room for all the people who want to move here!”
Why? Why don’t we work toward more equality in society?

By: Tdiddy

Tdiddy — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 18:47:35 +0000

Comparing Montgomery Co. to PG County is apples to oranges. Look at their school system for one. Given the option people don’t go there to settle down and start families if they can they head to Fairfax or Montgomery Co.

By: LuvMyHood

LuvMyHood — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 17:17:04 +0000

Tdiddy, Detroit and other cities with manufacturing bases have been losing population. They have vacant housing and land. In MoCo, we don’t have either. Silver Spring might be able to swing an office building or two, but when it comes to housing, we’re full.
PG has some run-down strip malls that might be candidates for replacement with something larger. However, water, sewer, parkland,schools, jobs for the young once they graduate from school, retraining for those who graduated a while ago and were downsized…I have noticed that more people do not necessarily lead to more jobs. Technology seems to destroy jobs faster than it creates them.
Those bricks and mortar would be better used in Detroit, Flint, MI, Akron, OH, Middletown, OH, and other cities and towns that have been losing their manufacturing base — that is, if something could be made there. Solar panels, piping to replace our crumbling water and sewer pipes come to mind.

By: Tdiddy

Tdiddy — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 04:57:48 +0000

So many of your comments make my head spin LuvMyHood I really don’t think anything will make you budge from your position. And that’s an issue when folks developing the Purple Line face when they try to reach compromise. No matter the alternatives you move to “bus or bust!” and I really take issue on some of the arguments.

“So, how long would it take for real estate developers to start clamoring to replace their housing with “first-class” hi-rise condos, complete with granite countertops?”

I think the economy really put a halt to this argument and the excess supply of the condo market in the D.c. region would really make this improbably in the near future. In any case what is wrong with this scenario. There SHOULD be dense housing near mass transit.

“However, the Purple Line would largely run on the surface, so it would have some of the same problems as buses — slippery leaves, sleet, broiling sun…”

Wow – I was speachless at this one…

“A friend lived within waking distance of West Hyattsville Metro station, but couldn’t walk to it because of a dangerous street crossing.”

Guess she didn’t want to get there bad enough.

And what’s wrong with rezoning and potential development again???

Editor’s note: Play nice. — JD (Jan 13, 2009)

By: LuvMyHood

LuvMyHood — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 23:23:51 +0000

Redevelopment IS happening in Anacostia, raising concerns about displacement. PG cannot even put up coherent street signs. Its bus system is just called “The Bus,” and is far less robust than Ride-On. A friend lived within waking distance of West Hyattsville Metro station, but couldn’t walk to it because of a dangerous street crossing.
The Gazette had a story about College Park, several developers were proposing projects — that would be served by shuttle buses.
PG utterly lacks coherence on transportation. However, that won’t stop efforts at rezoning. How many times have you seen a building sold and the residents/businesses kicked out, only to see the place boarded up or demolished later, with either a vacant building or a vacant lot in its place? I fear that for Langley Park. Coherent street signs, crosswalks and bus systems should have been the starting point — not a justification for building a railroad.