As Congress gets down to business on an economic-stimulus plan, county leaders want to be sure that some of that cash flows into downtown Silver Spring and other parts of MoCo.
“Montgomery County is a prime example of a local government that is able to quickly translate federal dollars into active projects,” MoCo exec Ike Leggett and council president Phil Andrews pitched to Maryland’s senators and Congressional reps in December. “With additional funding, we are poised to implement any number of ’shovel-ready’ projects quickly.”
One of those projects — ringing up at $100 million — would retrofit existing apartment buildings to be more energy efficient. The county’s older buildings, like the Depression-era Falkland Chase apartments, tend to be sieves as far as energy conservation goes, yet they house most of a community’s proletariat class, the county’s 28-page wish list for funding described.
“Because utility costs are passed on to the consumer, there is little incentive for multi-family complex managers to improve the energy efficiency of these properties,” the wish list stated. “Similarly, tenants can change behaviors but cannot change the characteristics of the facility.”
But low- or no-interest loans to landlords could get those apartment buildings in better shape, reduce energy consumption, improve property values, create “societal equity”, and pass the savings on to renters, the county argued.
The best part (for renters, anyway): In order to qualify for the loans, landlords must swear up, down and sideways to keep rent increases below county-recommended guidelines for up to five years after retrofitting wraps. If MoCo scores the cash, the retrofitting program could roll in six months.
Another proposal would drop lighted bike paths, racks and valet parking at the transit center, currently under construction outside Silver Spring’s Metro station. Because many of downtown’s bike paths have already been mapped out and the necessary real estate marked, the county can stick a shovel in the ground in two to six months for $1.3 million, the wish list read.
That proposal includes a bike station with repair services and valet bicycle parking on the triangular jug handle at Colesville Road and Wayne Avenue. Lockers and showers could be added later, the county said.
The area’s big project — about $1.2 billion big — is the Purple Line mass-transit ride. If funded, the light-rail or bus rapid-transit line (no one’s decided yet) would connect Bethesda with New Carrollton through downtown Silver Spring. A public meeting to hash out details on proposed routes goes down in front of the county planning board Thursday.
The nation’s economic-stimulus package is still sprouting, but US Rep Chris Van Hollen (D-Md 8) told Bloomberg News that the overall tab could run between $700 billion and $1 trillion. If approved, it would be the largest economic-stimulus package ever in US history.
Photo courtesy of Flickr user thebittenword.com.
Updated Jan7, 2008 for clarity.
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showers and valet bike parking? good lord.
“Good lord, how great,” I hope you mean. This is not like a spa for bikers. It’s a way to make bike commuting feasible — showers would mean you could ride to Metro and rinse off the sweat/dirt and get into your work clothes before hopping on the train; the valet would mean a huge crush of bikers could park/retrieve their bikes at the same time (like 8am and 6pm). If that’s what it takes to help make it feasible for hundreds and hundreds of commuters to ride their bikes to Metro, then it’s worth it! Think of it: fewer cars, better air quality, better health, more lively streetscape…
Editor’s note: This comment has been deleted. — JD (Jan 7, 2009)
Ones thing’s for sure, you can bet that worthless Congressman Van Hollen will maximize funding for useless projects in MoCo for his political gain. Van Hollen and others are the reason we’re in this mess.
Editor’s note: This comment has been deleted. — JD (Jan 7, 2009)
mmmmmmm…pie…
mmmmmmm….pork barrel spending…*gargle*
One Trillion? Thats one heck of a pie.
I hope it’s cherry.
I can’t tell you how difficult it was to settle on a photo for this story. I did a Flickr search for “pie” and came up with pecan, apple (shaped like a Mac mini), walnut, pumpkin, etc.
There were also a few zillion iterations of pizza, the best-looking shot being a carmelized onion and frou-frou cheese pie. However, my preference, had I gone with pizza pie, would have been pepperoni.
Mmmmmmm…blueberry pie and vanilla ice cream. A yummy dessert treat. A little bacon from the Obama administration wouldn’t hurt local business though.
Hmmmm… public showers at the Silver Spring Metro station? Count me out
How about taking the ex-owners of the run-down hotels on Georgia and having them run the public showers? Everyone wins!
Ps: Every time Mr. Van Hollen opens his mouth, I feel a little bit ashamed that he’s our rep. I’m generally a Dem voter, but he’s really not for me.
…or maybe the county should cut back its spending during the economic downturn.
Nah. I want a pony.