University Boulevard lane closures to begin next month for Purple Line between Takoma Park & Adelphi

A major lane closure is coming to University Boulevard starting next month, as Purple Line construction continues along that corridor. The right-hand lanes of University in both directions will close for an extended period between New Hampshire Avenue and West Park Drive. This closure will begin on or about March 3, 2020.

Wheaton Gateway project to open sidewalk on weekends

Developers of the Wheaton Gateway project at the corner of Veirs Mill Road and University Boulevard East have, as promised, announced some changes to improve pedestrian safety around the property that is home to the former Howard Johnson hotel and restaurant (more recently known as The Ambassador apartments). Through the end of February, they say the sidewalk will only be closed to pedestrians on weekdays between 7:00 AM and 4:00 PM.

This should help some during the heaviest commuting times, and especially in the evening rush hours, when the sun sets early at this time of year. The developers also say that, as a result, demolition work will pause on weekends this month.

A second change, which they alluded to in an announcement last week, is that flaggers will now be present during sidewalk closures. As I reported last week, many pedestrians were walking into (or worse, with their back to) oncoming traffic to avoid the long pedestrian detour around the site.

All East County Metro Red Line stations to close this weekend

This weekend will be terrible for Metro riders in the East County. Every Red Line Metro subway station between and including Glenmont and Takoma Park will be closed Saturday, February 1, 2020 and Sunday, February 2.

Two free shuttle buses will operate all weekend during the closure. One will run between Glenmont and Fort Totten in the District. This bus will not stop at the Takoma Park station; it will stop at Glenmont, Wheaton, Forest Glen and Silver Spring stations.

A second bus will run exclusively between Silver Spring and Takoma Park stations. For more details, see the WMATA website.

Ana G. Méndez University opens new Silver Spring "campus"

Ana G. Méndez University has moved its Montgomery County campus from Wheaton Plaza to downtown Silver Spring. It is located in the former Discovery Channel headquarters building at 1 Discovery Place. After the County's anti-business policies and moribund economy - along with the County Council's failure to even negotiate to retain Discovery - led Discovery to relocate to greener pastures in Knoxville, Tennessee, their empty HQ has been rebranded as Inventa Towers.

Ana G. Méndez is calling the new location their "Capital Area Campus." This is a loss for businesses such as nearby restaurants in Wheaton where students would eat, but does put the college in a proximity to more current and potential students at the new location. Of course, the loss for Wheaton restaurants becomes a gain for downtown Silver Spring eateries.

MoCo selecting vendor for Route 29 BRT digital information kiosks

Smart City Media digital kiosk
at Kansas City, Missouri
Streetcar station

Montgomery County is nearing a contract with a New York "internet of things" firm in the bidding for who will provide "digital information kiosks" for the future Route 29 Bus Rapid Transit stations. According to County documents, the potential winning bid is from Smart City Media, LLC.

If chosen, SCM will provide an Interactive Digital Information Kiosk at each station along the U.S. 29 "Flash" BRT stations. Under the contract offer, Montgomery County would receive 25% of the net revenues from advertising and information shown by the kiosks. It would be a 5-year contract, with two options for additional 5-year extensions, if approved by SCM and the County Council.

SCM says it has around 30 similar contracts with cities, towns and transit agencies across the country, including Kansas City, Missouri; Harrisburg; Dallas' DART system; and Memphis. In Kansas City, for example, kiosks feature large screens with touchscreen capability. Montgomery County is set to make a decision on the contract after the close of business on February 10, 2020.

Photo courtesy Smart City Media, LLC

Wheaton Gateway developers warn jaywalkers about safety, potential tickets at site

The developers of the Wheaton Gateway project on the site of the former Howard Johnson/Ambassador Apartments are asking pedestrians to obey the current detour in place around the property at the corner of Veirs Mill Road and University Boulevard West. They say that flaggers will be added at the site to assist in directing vehicles and pedestrians before the end of the month, as well as other "safety enhancements." But they also warn that police may ticket pedestrians who enter the roadway to get around the closed sidewalk.

Ambassador pedestrian detour

This has been an ongoing issue when sidewalks have closed in downtown Bethesda, and no pedestrian walkway is provided. Despite the dangers, some people will inevitably walk into oncoming traffic to avoid a long detour. Pedestrian safety advocates have asked Montgomery County officials to either bar sidewalks from being closed, or mandate pedestrian walkways on the side of the closure, to address this problem.

Photo/map via Wheaton Gateway

Bar Louie closes Wheaton, Rockville locations as MoCo nightlife continues to tank

Just as nightlife in booming Washington, D.C. expands into new corners of the District, it continues to tank spectacularly in moribund Montgomery County. Bar Louie has closed in Rockville Town Square. As if that wasn't enough, Bar Louie also closed its newer location at Wheaton Plaza, which was in a very modern and new structure with prime proximity to the AMC Wheaton 9 cineplex. "Thanks for all the memories," read signs in the windows.

Having been at Rockville Town Square for many years, the closure reflects the drastic downturn the county has taken over the past decade, as the Montgomery County political cartel has seized all nine seats on the County Council. The fact that the Wheaton location exited the same weekend indicates that this was more than just the ongoing struggles at Federal Realty's Rockville Town Square, which has seen a mass exodus of many of its key tenants in recent years.

Montgomery County is in real trouble, folks. County revenue, not surprisingly, is severely declining with the failing economy and flight of the rich to lower-tax jurisdictions in the region. Nightlife took a catastrophic blow from the Council's disastrous "nighttime economy task force" debacle, which resulted in the closure of 18 nightspots in Bethesda alone, and was capped by several new Council policies that hit the bottom line of hospitality businesses hard. Not to mention the Council preserving and beefing up the County government liquor monopoly, instead of ending it as bar and restaurant owners have begged them to do for years.

More liquor money for Virginia and D.C. We're being led by very stupid people, folks.