Breakfast links: Montgomery's losses

by David Alpert • April 16, 2010 9:19 am

By Tom Toles. Click to see the punchline.

Dan Reed leaving: Maryland and the region will suffer a big loss as Dan Reed leaves for graduate school in Philadelphia. We hope he will come back and resume blogging for those without much voice, like residents of eastern Montgomery, skaters, and others. (JUTP)

Vacant stores and gas stations not the path: Montgomery planners are hoping to finally spark revitalization in Wheaton, though one obstacle may be property owner Greenhill Capital which several recently-closed Wheaton businesses have accused of being too inflexible (including DeJaBel cafe, which Cavan discussed) (Gazette) ... DeJaBel is moving to downtown Gaithersburg (Post) ... The County Council has is opposing a fast track approval process for the proposed Costco gas station. (Gazette)

Lots in (& near) LeDroit: Housing Complex gets drawings of the new Gage-Eckington Park ... Police are still trying to identify the driver who intentionally hit a bicyclist at 1st and Florida (Fox5) ... The project at 1922 Third Street got the support of the local design review committee but the ANC still opposes it. (Left for LeDroit)

Oh, these spare parts?: A WMATA Inspector General audit has found that the agency doesn't have a good inventory of its spare parts, which it estimates as worth $95 million but includes substantial obsolete inventory that hasn't been identified. (Examiner)

Alexandria's parking solution: Alexandria plans to increase meter rates, but seems to be targeting them to areas that need more turnover and to drive long-term parkers to the off-street garages. They'll also meter some more spaces. (Examiner)

All about Bobs (and Tom): Bob McCartney recommends against cutting MetroAccess service to the ¾-mile minimum (Post) ... Senator Bob Menendez proposes a new tax credit for transit-oriented development (Streetsblog) ... Rethink College Park criticizes opponents of grad student housing, including Councilmember Tom Dernoga.

Drive-thru booze: A Louisiana (where else) drive-thru sells daquiris and shots. It's apparently legal as long as they don't actually put the straw in the cup, but they can hand the driver the straw along with the cup. (Current TV via Upgrade: Travel Better)

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David Alpert is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Greater Greater Washington and Greater Greater Education. He worked as a Product Manager for Google for six years and has lived in the Boston, San Francisco, and New York metro areas in addition to Washington, DC. He loves the area which is, in many ways, greater than those others, and wants to see it become even greater.

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Ah, Louisiana...Laissez les bon temps ro-JESUS WATCH OUT FOR THE TREE!!! [crash]

by Reid on Apr 16, 2010 9:47 am • link • report

Just frustrating. I don't sympathize at all with anyone who lives in COLLEGE PARK and complains about new student housing. The University has been there for longer than anyone alive today. The University is the reason why COLLEGE PARK is a nice economically sustained town and didn't decline as dramatically as the neighboring Langley Park or Hyattsville did during the second half of the 20th century.

Without the University, the NIMBY's wouldn't have a nice stable 19th century streetcar suburb to live in for College Park housing prices rather than Takoma Park housing prices.

When I went to UMD as an undergrad, there was a profound housing shortage for both undergrads and grad students. This nonsense is part of the reason for it. It has gotten much better since I graduated in 2003 but it's still crunched.

I grew up in rural Cecil County, MD. There were hog farms in the area. Many of them had been hog farms since the 19th century. I remember that people would build McMansions downwind of a hog farm and then complain about the smell. This is a situation that is equally ridiculous. If you don't want to live near students, then don't move to COLLEGE PARK. I wrote the town's name in all caps to drive home the obvious.

by Cavan on Apr 16, 2010 9:52 am • link • report

".. worth $95 million but includes substantial obsolete inventory that hasn't been identified"

Sounds very much like the WMATA version of my basement. It scares me that Metro operates like my fixer-upper house.

by Jamie on Apr 16, 2010 10:03 am • link • report

There's a place in Tallahassee that does drive-thru keg refills. I always thought, if you're there to refill a keg, you really shouldn't be driving!

by Gavin on Apr 16, 2010 10:48 am • link • report

@Gavin How else are you supposed to get the keg home?

by Wahmbulance on Apr 16, 2010 12:07 pm • link • report

@Wahmbulance, on your cargo bike, of course!

by Jamie on Apr 16, 2010 12:12 pm • link • report

That Louisiana item is not news. Everyone knows that as soon as you cross the state line, you start looking for a drive-thru daiquiri stand.

by ksu499 on Apr 16, 2010 12:38 pm • link • report

It's possible David just found out about it ksu499. I know the first time I heard about it in 2005, I was also stunned. Don't know how long it was going on before that. When I'd go over there in the late 80s early 90s, I don't *think* they had them, but I can't say for sure. What I do wonder about is how many alcoholics NOLA has created. A charming, lawless place it is.

by Jazzy on Apr 16, 2010 12:48 pm • link • report

McCartney is not exactly right that the fate of the MetroAccess-dependent lies in the hands of the WMATA board--it really lies in the hands of the budget makers in the three jurisdictions. And it's also a bit of a dodge to say that the region made a promise to provide unlimited MetroAccess service--it was required by an unfunded federal mandate to set up MetroAccess and, in the beginning, when the expense was small, it was easier to just serve every trip than worry about boundaries. This, of course, was before widespread computerized maps and GIS, which today can make determination of the 3/4 mile boundary a snap.

One aspect of MetroAccess I hadn't though of before reading McCartney's article is that the existence of MetroAccess is encouraging, for example, a blind man with a computer job in Reston to live in Centerville. This would be crazy for an able-bodied transit-dependent person and doesn't really seem like the sort of arrangement that should be encouraged, especially when it depends on a $17000+ (2 rides/day * 250 days/year * $35 subsidy/ride) annual subsidy.

Maybe we decide that's a worthwhile subsidy, but it shouldn't all come out of Metro's budget--in this case, the office building's inaccessibility by transit is the primary reason that this trip needs to be made via MetroAccess instead of regular transit--plenty of blind persons can navigate the bus and rail systems for plenty destinations, after all--so shouldn't it be made to foot some of the bill for the accessibility.

by thm on Apr 16, 2010 1:16 pm • link • report

Funny thing about that Alexandria parking article...at this month's Transportation Commission meeting, the only thing mentioned about parking rates is that the city's budget proposal included increasing rates in Old Town to $1.25/hr, to match that near Eisenhower Ave. There was no mention of the items in the Examiner article...

by Froggie on Apr 16, 2010 1:43 pm • link • report

The best part of the drive-through daiquiri stands is the 12pm-1pm lunchtime "happy hour" specials. Two for one!

by Tim on Apr 16, 2010 4:01 pm • link • report

I don't know about La. but my town has a daquiri place and the drink is sealed with duct tape. Remove it and you are in violation of the open container law.

It's not like you couldn't open a can you bought from the grocery store, so I don't see what the big deal is. The idea of a drive through is merely convenience, like those drive-thru beverage barns.

by TXSteveW on Apr 16, 2010 11:35 pm • link • report

The drive through daquiri places date back to at least the 80's when I was in high school. When I was in high school, you could drink in LA in a bar at 18 (if you paid a cover charge). Since my home town was only 45 minutes from the state line, it basically shut down half the bars in town because everyone would go to LA where bars set up on the LA side. That stretch of highway from Vinton to Beaumont was the most dangerous in the country during that time. Now that the drinking age in LA is 21, no exceptions, things are back to normal. But I have a lot of good memories of sobering up in the "Welcome to Texas" parking lot.

by David C on Apr 19, 2010 11:47 am • link • report