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I'm increasingly finding that my two DC social worlds of urbanism & theatre are beginning to merge...

I think pretty much all the arguments are right...

First up, demographics:
University Park is quite an affluent enclave, but on its own likely not enough to support a Whole Foods. The University sits a short drive / bike ride north, but admittedly it's a bit of a stretch for many students in downtown or on campus to make it a regular car-free grocery trip.

On the other hand, Riverdale (Park) and areas south, east, and west are all certainly lower-income areas with residents unlikely to be regular Whole Foods customers.

On the whole (ha ha... pun) I'd say that yes, by and large the customer base would be driving... while there's plenty of transit that could be within reach if the right ped/bike connections are built, the fact of the matter is that grocery trips aren't generally suited toward such longer-range ped/bike trips.

That brings me to traffic:

I absolutely agree with the locals: this development would bring traffic. It would do this in its original urbanist-style form & it would do this in its current sprawl-style form. And US 1 while UMD is in session is certainly no picnic to drive along.

But the kicker is that the Whole Foods will bring more traffic no matter what form it takes on -- if it's covered in parking lots, it'll still pull in more cars regardless of how the parking lot is oriented.

And if it's denser: I'd wager it'll still have a garage, so now you also have the additional traffic of new residents and offices... residents & workers whom might be able to take transit; whom could shop without driving; but on the average would certainly add traffic.

Some governments move forward with the urbanist-style government: it brings more options, more services, and greater revenue to the public.

Others choose to decline it: they want to preserve neighborhoods as-is, make-do without additional services, & don't feel that their governments give them anything for the revenue they'd have gained, anyway.

Prince George's County continues to choose the latter path. That's not to say it's wrong, but it's a route that they should question when so many in their government & of their constituency look west and wonder why they can't be like that.

by Bossi on Aug 18, 2011 10:31 am • link • report