First Look: Old Georgetown Pedestrian Bridge
Work on the pedestrian bridge over Old Georgetown Road in downtown Bethesda is progressing and today the wood and plastic covering the project came off to reveal a new paint job.
The new red paint is the signature color of downtown Bethesda, according to Bethesda Chevy Chase Regional Services Director Ken Hartman in an April interview with Bethesda Patch.
The bridge, which had to repaired because of corroded steel, was previously light blue. It connects Bethesda Place on the south side of Old Georgetown Road to the Metropolitan Apartments and the Regional Services Center on the north side.
A Montgomery County spokesperson said the painting, priming and cleaning of the bridge was the final phase of the project.
Suburban Hospital Hosting Community Flu Shot Clinics
Suburban Hospital (8600 Old Georgetown Rd.) is hosting a series of flu shot clinics in October at three Bethesda locations.
No appointment is necessary. You must be 18 years old or older to receive the shot, which costs $25.
The clinic will be in front of the Bethesda Chevy Chase Regional Services Center (4805 Edgemoor Lane) from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday Oct. 4 and Thursday, Oct. 4.
Suburban Hospital will have a table at the Taste of Bethesda, from noon to 3 p.m. on Oct. 6 in the Woodmont Triangle area that will be offering the flu vaccine.
On Tuesday, Oct. 16 from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. and again from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., the hospital will bring the clinic to the YMCA Bethesda-Chevy Chase (9401 Old Georgetown Rd.)
For more information call the hospital at 301-896-6508.
Cardin, Mikulski, Van Hollen to Tout Medical Center Tunnel
Maryland Senators Ben Cardin and Barbara Mikulski and Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D) are coming to the Medical Center Metro station on Monday to tout $40 million in Federal funding for the underground tunnel project that will connect Metro with the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
Officials hope the shallow tunnel will provide a safer and uninterrupted crossing of busy Wisconsin Avenue for the many WRNMMC staff members who use the Metro.
The Montgomery County Department of Transportation is in charge of the project and will manage it when it is completed, scheduled for 2016. DOT officials discussed the progress of the project design and some potential hurdles at a community meeting this week.
The $40 million comes from a competitive Federal Grant under the U.S. Office of Economic Adjustment, the Department of Defense’s main grant manager of BRAC-related projects.
The entire crossing project, which also includes a 120-foot deep bank of high speed elevators from the WRNMMC gate to the Metro station platform, will cost $68 million and is being funded entirely with Federal aid.
Cardin, Mikulski and Van Hollen will present a ceremonial check for $40 million to County DOT Director Art Holmes and Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority General Manager Rich Sarles.
The ceremony is slated for 11:30 a.m. at the NIH Gateway Center.
Pete’s Apizza (Delivery) Coming to Bethesda
Pete’s New Haven Style Apizza, the popular D.C. pizza joint with locations in Friendship Heights, Columbia Heights and Arlington, is extending its Friendship Heights delivery area into Bethesda.
“To grow a delivery business you have to grow it slowly because either you have too many drivers in the beginning or you have to make customers wait way too long for their pizza,” said co-founder Joel Mehr. “It’s a little bit hard to describe unless you’re in the restaurant every day.”
Mehr felt enough Bethesda customers were interested in a Pete’s delivery service to justify extending its reach past the District line and up to Goldsboro Road and Bradley Lane, just south of downtown.
Delivery time shouldn’t be more than 20 minutes, Mehr said. Delivery hours are 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sunday.
As for a future Pete’s location in Bethesda, Mehr said a saturated upscale pizza market means he’ll probably look elsewhere, perhaps North Bethesda or Rockville. Mehr said Pete’s is looking at a lease for a space in Silver Spring.
Study Rates Bethesda, North Bethesda as Walkable Communities
A new George Washington University real estate study that rates Washington area “walkable urban communities” found Bethesda is prime for more growth and North Bethesda could be an important national model for strip mall redevelopment.
“The WalkUP Wake-Up Call” identified 43 area communities with retail districts, town centers, or other characteristics of walkable urban development, “a niche marker that [is] becoming the market,” according to the study.
It judged the areas based on economic performance and rated them on four tiers: copper, silver, gold and platinum.
Bethesda was given a Silver rating, thanks in part to the Bethesda Row:
Bethesda barely missed a Gold ranking. The redevelopment of the area adjacent to the south of the Metro station has been a national model, as has its place management. The Woodmont Triangle is where the future of opportunity exists.
North Bethesda, in the study as White Flint, got a Copper rating and was paired with Tysons Corner as examples of old strip mall development on the verge of complete overhauls:
Copper WalkUPs Tysons Corner and White Flint are national models of strip commercial redevelopment. Both are at the Copper level since they have recently made or committed to make significant transit improvements, and both have dramatically increased and made legal walkable urban zoning.
Morning Notes
Buses To Replace Trains on Red Line This Weekend — Metro is replacing rails and replacing fasteners on the Red Line between the Grosvenor and Friendship Heights stations this weekend, which means buses will replace trains at Grosvenor, Medical Center and Bethesda. [WMATA]
Chevy Chase Woman Semifinalist in National Recipe Contest — Aviva Goldfarb is a semifinalist in the “Your Best Recipe” contest for her Israeli salad with tahini lemon dressing appetizer. Winners will be announced on Nov. 12. [Chevy Chase Patch]
Area Residents Make Forbes Richest List — A number of area residents, including Chevy Chase resident and Washington Nationals owner Ted Lerner, Bethesda native Mitchell Rales and Bethesda resident and Carlyle Group CEO David Rubenstein, are on Forbes list of 400 richest Americans. [Baltimore Business Journal]
Jayna Murray 5K Run/Walk Rescheduled — The second annual event, in memory of slain Lululemon employee Jayna Murray, will now happen Nov. 11 instead of Nov. 4 to avoid a conflict with the Edgemoor Classic 5K. [Bethesda Patch]
