Archives September 2017

First, a huge shout-out to Pinstripes at Pike and Rose for hosting our Community Meeting last night.  We appreciate their generosity and desire to be an active part of our community. And thank you to the many people who not only attended but more importantly, added their voices to the discussion about new projects coming soon to the Pike District and the White Flint 2 master plan.

Don’t forget that tonight County Executive Ike Leggett  and Council President Roger Berliner will be joining MCDOT Director Al Roshdieh to cut the ribbon on the wonderful new striped crosswalks popping up all over the Pike District.

The ribbon cutting will take place at our third Walkable Wednesday, September 27 at 6pm at the intersection of  Nicholson Lane and Executive Boulevard. These new crosswalks — and other pedestrian improvements we should be seeing soon — are a direct result of our advocacy through the Pike District Pedestrian Safety Campaign.

We are beyond thrilled that County Executive Ike Leggett  and Council President Roger Berliner will be joining MCDOT Director Al Roshdieh to cut the ribbon on the wonderful new striped crosswalks popping up all over the Pike District.

The ribbon cutting will take place at our third Walkable Wednesday, September 27 at 6pm at the intersection of  Nicholson Lane and Executive Boulevard . These new crosswalks — and other pedestrian improvements we should be seeing soon — are a direct result of our advocacy through the Pike District Pedestrian Safety Campaign.

Please join Ike Leggett, Roger Berliner, and Al Roshdieh tomorrow at 6 pm.

We hope you’ll attend our Board and Community Meeting Tuesday, September 26th at 7pm at the Pinstripes Ballroom at Pike and Rose.

We’ll be talking about the White Flint 2 Plan, the Pike District Pedestrian Safety Campaign, Property Owner/Developer Updates, and Other Issues. The agenda is below.

Agenda

September 26, 2017 Community Meeting

7:00 pm          Welcome

7:02 pm          Approval of minutes and financial report

7:07 pm          Walkable Wednesday Crosswalk Ribbon Cutting September 27^th, 6 pm and                                                                                  Pike District Pedestrian Campaign Successes

7:20 pm          Fall Fest, October 14^th, 2pm to 5pm

7:25 pm          Property Owner Updates

7:35 pm          Board of Directors Openings

7:40 pm          Save Metro Coalition Update

7:50 pm          White Flint 2 Discussion

8:20 pm          Other Issues

I’m Amy Ginsburg, Executive Director of Friends of White Flint, a nonprofit group that represents the residents, businesses, and property owners of the White Flint/Pike District area.

Overall, we are quite pleased with the Planning Board approved plan for White Flint 2.  We are delighted they decided to include many of our suggestions, including a pedestrian-bike crossing over the CSX tracks and equity between the White Flint 1 sector and the western part of White Flint 2. In our written testimony, you can read about the many components of the plan we support.

Today, though, I’d like to address three items that can significantly improve the White Flint 2 plan.

First, we are strongly against the notion in the staging plan that if NADMS goals are met, mobility amenities do not have to be built. This not only dramatically complicates implementing the special taxing district; it also eliminates incentives and certainty for creating essential features such as separated bikeways, a second metro entrance, shuttle busses, and a revitalized Rockville Pike, etc. Those mobility amenities are a vital part of the Pike District regardless of NADMS goals.  The language in the current plan results in a troubling lack of parity between White Flint 2 and White Flint 1. Conceivably, both White Flint 1 and 2 could meet NADMS goals, but White Flint 1 development would be forced to stop while White Flint 2 development could proceed if certain transit projects are not built.

Second, we believe that creating a walkable, bikeable community is critical, so we very much hope the plan will encourage sidewalks wide enough for four pedestrians to walk comfortably, a minimum of ten feet across. We also believe that creating on-street parking would make it safer for pedestrians and cyclists by slowing traffic among other benefits.

Third, in regards to schools, we applaud the plan for emphasizing the need for both a new elementary and middle school. We also applaud the Planning Board for including urban school designs in the plan. To encourage those schools to actually be built, we believe that there must be adequate and fair incentives for developers to redevelop and provide sites for schools. Merely designating a particular site in no way ensures that site will ever be turned into a school. Sites in Rock Spring and WMAL should be considered as well as sites in White Flint 2, all of which are part of the WJ Cluster.

Thank you for your time and consideration and for working to create a vibrant, walkable, transit-oriented community in the White Flint area.

Curious about who spoke last night at the White Flint 2 County Council hearing?  Here’s the list.

1.  Stephen Paczkowski, Town of Garrett Park
2. Linda Moran, City of Rockville
3. Andy Zuckerman, Montgomery County Public Schools
4. Jennifer Russell, GPT Properties Trust
5. Steve Robins, Pickford Enterprises
6. Elizabeth King, Individual
7. Timothy Dugan, Verizon Maryland, LLC
8. Crystal Lutkenhouse, Individual
9. Casey Cirner, RMR Group
10. Steve Silverman, Coalition of White Flint 2 PropertyOwners
11. Wendy Calhoun, Walter Johnson Cluster
12. Kip Edwards Garrett Park Estates-White Flint Park Civic Association
13. Stacy Silber, Monument
14. Edward Rich, Greater Farmland Civic Association
15. David King, Individual
16. Beth Delucenay, Charles E. Smith Life Communities
17. Amy Ginsburg, Friends of White Flint
18. Brian Hooker, Randolph Civic Association
19. Bruce Lane, The Meridian Group
20. Francine Walter, Lerner
21. Ric Erdheim, Cherington Homeowners Association
22. Barbara Sears, Washington Science Joint Venture
23. Barbara Sears, Wilgus Associates Limited Partnership
24. Brian Krantz, West Fernwood Citizens Association
25. Emily Beckman, Parkwood Residents Association
26. Debby Orsak, Individual
27. Paul Arveson, Individual
28. Jay Corbalis, Federal Realty Investment Trust
29. Joshua Sloan, Randolph Properties
30. Sheri Steisel Weiss, Luxmanor Citizens Association
31. Emily Vaias, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of MidAtlantic States

We are beyond thrilled that County Executive Ike Leggett will be joining MCDOT Director Al Roshdieh to cut the ribbon on the wonderful new striped crosswalks popping up all over the Pike District.

The ribbon cutting will take place at our third Walkable Wednesday, September 27 at 6pm at the intersection of  Nicholson Lane and Executive Boulevard . These new crosswalks — and other pedestrian improvements we should be seeing soon — are a direct result of our advocacy through the Pike District Pedestrian Safety Campaign.

Please join Ike Leggett and Al Roshdieh and join us next Wednesday!

Amazon is searching for a second headquarters, and of course, the Pike District/White Flint area is the absolutely perfect place for their new 8 million square feet, 50,000 employee campus. The White Flint mall site is 45 acres and ready to build. You can walk to transit and are incredibly close to two major highways, 270 and 495. And of course, we’re an educated, welcoming neighborhood.

You can read about Montgomery County’s efforts to win the Amazon headquarters at Bethesda Beat and about the regional take on this once-in-a-generation opportunity in Greater Greater Washington.