Giant To Open Grocery Pick-Up Location In Chevy Chase
Giant Food hopes to open a Peapod grocery pick-up facility and gas station at the Sunoco gas station site in Chevy Chase by this fall, according to a company spokesperson.
The location, at 8500 Connecticut Ave., would be for pick-up orders placed online, according to Giant Food spokesman Jamie Miller. Miller said the Peapod by Giant will open in late summer or early fall.
The facility will be built in the Chevy Chase Lake Sector, where the Montgomery County Council is currently weighing a series of significant zoning changes. Developer Chevy Chase Land Company hopes to build a mixed-use town center across the street from the site and the Planning Board approved a Sector Plan that would rezone the 8500 Connecticut Ave. property to allow for a 35-foot-tall residential and retail development and a 70-foot one after the Chevy Chase Lake Purple Line station is assured.
“The relatively small size of this property limits its potential redevelopment as a stand-alone project. However, its location creates opportunities for redevelopment, as part of an assemblage of properties. To encourage this, the Plan recommends rezoning to match the shopping center’s height and density. If this property is ever assembled with others, as part of a unified development, the number of curb cuts along Connecticut Avenue, between Manor Road and Chevy Chase Lake Drive, should be reduced,” according to the Sector Plan.
A gas station and grocery pick-up site seems to contradict the more urban and transit-friendly feeling developers and the Planning Board seek for Chevy Chase Lake.
Miller said it will be a small facility, “where customers can place their online orders in the morning or while at work, then come pick the orders up on the way home.
“We’ve identified a demand for the service at that location,” Miller said. “We feel that this is going to be a growing part of the grocery business and a great convenience.”
Giant Food and Peapod opened a similar location in April in Clarksville and Columbia, both in Howard County.
“Our mission at Peapod is to save our customers time and money — and for many busy families, especially moms, who are always on the go, a quick stop at our pick-up location on the way home is the most convenient option,” Peapod President Andrew Parkinson said in the press release announcing the Howard County openings. “Peapod Pick-Up is fast and easy. Peapod associates greet you at your car, collect your coupons and load your groceries into your vehicle for you — all within five minutes. There’s no need for you to even get out of your car.”
Save The Trail 5K Set For May 25
The 4th Annual Save The Trail 5K is set for Saturday, May 25, even as the Maryland Transit Administration nears its final plan for the 16-mile Purple Line light rail that would be built on it.
The event, from the Friends of the Capital Crescent Trail, is meant to celebrate the Trail and “let our officials know that dwindling greenspace is invaluable and is not habitat for trains.”
The right-of-way for the Trail, former site of the Georgetown Branch rail line of the B & O Railroad, belongs to the state of Maryland. The MTA plans to build a completed companion trail next to it, but the Friends of the Capital Crescent Trail argue it won’t be the same.
“We want it preserved as the 20 acre wooded park that many have enjoyed for over 20 years,” according to a press release on the 5K.
Those who pre-register will be guaranteed a free race shirt. Registration the morning of the race begins at 7:30 a.m. The race begins at 9 a.m. The course will start and finish in Elm Street Park in the Town of Chevy Chase.
The top three women, men and runners 14 and under will receive prizes. Events include music, face-painting, sign-making and prizes.
To register or for more information, visit the event website.
Photo via Friends of the Capital Crescent Trail
Chevy Chase Lake Developer Gathers Supporters
There has been pronounced opposition to the proposed Chevy Chase Lake Sector Plan, but the major developer in the mix is hoping to show there is also community support.
The Chevy Chase Land Company, which wants to convert the existing strip shopping center near Chevy Chase Lake Drive into a mixed-use town center, held a happy hour event on Wednesday for its Friends of Chevy Chase Lake group.
There were supporters and many residents who had questions about specific parts of the plan. Land Company Vice President of Public Affairs Miti Figueredo and President and CEO David Smith answered questions about a planned new north to south road, the fate of the Chevy Chase Supermarket during construction and the status of the Purple Line.
Many who expressed their support for the project during a County Council public hearing in March did so on the basis that the new development would make sense around a planned Purple Line station just north of the Land Company’s existing 8401 Connecticut building.
Bonnie Wicklund, who lives in the 8101 Connecticut Condominiums, said she supports the development. Her main want is the Purple Line station.
“We have everything but a post office. The only thing that this area really lacks is easy access to the Metro so that we can get on a train, make a change or two without driving, without getting into a car,” Wicklund said. “As for the development, I like to walk. I walk all over Chevy Chase and to the Chevy Chase Supermarket. I would love to have more restaurants to choose from and more shops.”
Chevy Chase Resident Has Car Illegally Towed
Mark Nadel is a Bank of Georgetown customer, so he felt comfortable parking his car in the bank’s parking lot on Sunday before he withdrew some cash from the ATM and stepped into the Whole Foods Market next door for some milk.
When he came out of the Friendship Heights store about 10 minutes later, his car was gone. He called the number on a sign in the lot and Rockville-based towing company Diversified Recovery Towing confirmed the company had towed his car.
One problem: When Nadel went to the bank manager the next day, he was told the bank had no contract with Diversified or any other towing company.
“He told me he didn’t care who parked there when they’re closed on the weekends,” Nadel said. “The bank manager was amazed that this happened.”
The bank manager called the towing company and Diversified agreed to refund Nadel the $168 charge. Nadel said he was told by a maintenance man on-site that Diversified towed cars from the lot without a contract all weekend. He went to the Chevy Chase Village listserv today to advise others who might have been towed.
An employee at Diversified’s office in Rockville said the company would not comment on the story.
Eric Friedman, director of Montgomery County’s Consumer Protection Office, said his office has heard about similar stories at the bank location (5410 Wisconsin Ave.). Friedman’s office has been leading the charge on preventing illegal and aggressive trespass towing.
Situations such as the one Nadel experienced on Sunday are common. Friedman said many complaints involve tows that are technically legal, but consist of a tow truck driver pouncing on a car as soon as a customer leaves the business the spot is reserved for. Often, that customer is in a business next door when his or her car is towed.
But in this case, the tow company didn’t have a contract from the business in question. The bank wasn’t even open.
“To me, it’s no different than if I parked my car on a city street and someone came and towed it away,” said Nadel, who took the Metro up to Rockville to retrieve his car.
“I was really pissed off,” Nadel said. “And I know other cars were towed away.”
Police Must Weigh Risks Of Chasing Criminals Into D.C.
In a police chase that crosses into Washington D.C., such as the one that followed the Cartier smash-and-grab on Tuesday, Montgomery County Police must carefully weigh the seriousness of the crime against the legality and risk of entering another jurisdiction.
Some worry that makes areas near the Maryland-D.C. line vulnerable to criminals who know they may not be pursued into the District. The robbery on Chevy Chase’s ritzy stretch of high-end stores, nicknamed the Rodeo Drive of the East Coast, follows the January robbery at the Jimmy Choo store a few doors down.
About 40 minutes after the Cartier robbery, as police interviewed employees and reporters gathered on the sidewalk, a man reportedly shoplifted from the Gap store across the street before fleeing to the Friendship Heights Metro station on the Western Avenue border.
Montgomery County Police’s pursuit of the Cartier suspects ended a little more than two miles into D.C., according to scanner traffic.
After reportedly evading a D.C. police officer in Southeast D.C., the suspects remain at large.
Montgomery County Police spokesperson and Capt. Paul Starks said unless the crime is violent, officers won’t cross into D.C. Fresh pursuits are dangerous and often end in accidents. Liability and risk are concerns.
“We’re going into another jurisdiction. We’re leaving the state of Maryland. You know our butts are hanging out,” Starks said. “We’re not getting involved in that.”
Thieves ‘Take Control’ Of, Rob Chevy Chase Cartier Store
UPDATE 2:45 p.m. A group of men took control of the Cartier jewelry and watch store in Chevy Chase this morning before robbing it and leading police on a high-speed chase into D.C, according to Montgomery County Police.
The robbery call came at 11:08 a.m. at the store (5471 Wisconsin Ave.), on a main stretch of Chevy Chase’s high-end shopping district. According to police scanner traffic, the men stole 12 watches worth around $150,000.
Capt. Paul Starks, a police spokesperson, said detectives do not want to release information about the merchandise that was stolen.
Starks said one unmasked man gained entry into the store, which has a buzzer at the front door. The first man then held the door open for a number of masked and gloved men who entered the store and quickly took control.
Starks said the suspects did not use a weapon and that the four Cartier employees complied with protocol by abiding by their demands. A security guard was involved in a physical altercation, but Starks said there were no serious injuries. The suspects then smashed a glass case with Cartier merchandise before fleeing in a late-model black Dodge Charger with both Illinois and Virginia plates.
The robbery took less than a minute, Starks said.
The store is along a row of luxury stores with security guards. Some of those guards are police officers and Starks said an off-duty police officer in the area of the robbery assisted in the response.
The suspects went north on Wisconsin Avenue before maneuvering east to Connecticut Avenue. One car was hit in the chase, according to scanner traffic, before the car turned south on Connecticut and entered D.C.
A Montgomery County Police officer chased the robbers into D.C., but per County Police protocol had to stop the pursuit. NBC4 reported that chase led to a police-involved crash in Southeast D.C. Starks said the suspects remain at large, to the best of his knowledge.
About 40 minutes after the Chevy Chase Cartier store robbery, a man walked into the Gap across Wisconsin Avenue and robbed the store. Police are now saying that robbery did not include a weapon.
Officer Janelle Smith, a police spokesperson, said police were called at 11:51 a.m. to the store at 5430 Wisconsin Ave. for the report of a man robbing the store with a six-inch Swiss Army knife. The man then fled toward the Friendship Heights Metro station. Smith said the robberies were unrelated.
Starks, at a press conference later this afternoon, spoke with employees of the store and said it was a simple case of shoplifting.
Across the street from the Gap incident, police were already on the scene of the Cartier robbery. A crew of news cameras was lined up in front of the store as detectives spoke with store employees.
Starks said detectives are now looking at surveillance footage.
WSSC Says Monitoring System Didn’t Fail In Chevy Chase Water Main Break
WSSC officials today said they still don’t know what caused the major water main break on Connecticut Avenue last month, but that the fiber optic monitoring system meant to warn of breaks did not fail.
WSSC chief engineer Gary Gumm told the Montgomery County Council’s Transportation & Environment Committee that the acoustic fiber optic (AFO) monitoring system did not warn of the break because it only detects pings or snapping sounds of steel wires that support the system’s major water PCCP mains. Because the steel wires at the Connecticut Avenue break did not snap before the break, WSSC had no notice of what was coming.
“That is a distinction however that has very little comfort to our community because the purpose of the AFO system is to give us warning,” said Councilmember Roger Berliner (D-Bethesda-Potomac) who organized today’s hearing the day after the break. “That’s a source of great anxiety for our community.”
A resident did report a leak near the 60-inch main at 1 p.m., about seven hours before the March 18 break, which led to a geyser of water near the intersection of Connecticut Avenue and Chevy Chase Lake Drive in Chevy Chase. The damage left downed power lines, a torn-up lane of Chevy Chase Lake Drive, traffic problems on Connecticut Avenue and a mandatory water use restriction for the county.
Gumm said the crew that responded to the leak acted appropriately, determining it came from a valve that could be repaired the next morning.
The full forensic report is expected in June.
“We did not know that this type of pipe might fail without the wires breaking first,” Gumm said. “Water was seen bubbling out of a valve on Connecticut Avenue. In hindsight, a mistake was made there. …What I think we learned with this one is I think they did everything that they’re supposed to do. When these valves are in the vicinity of some of these larger pipes, again I think we need to take a little more time, put a little more effort to try and make sure we’ve isolated it to the valve and not to the PCCP line.”
Gumm indicated that the atypical shape of the pipe at the point where it broke might have had something to do with the break, which WSSC has categorized as a catastrophic failure. Gumm said 11 other large mains have been repaired or replaced since 2011 because the AFO system detected snapped wires. One other repair is scheduled to begin in May.
When pressed for more details on how atypical the pipe was, Gumm said only about three percent of WSSC’s large PCCP water mains are similar.
Berliner and Councilmember Hans Riemer (D-At large) also questioned WSSC general manager Jerry Johnson and Gumm about the agency’s inspection and repair schedule. The scheduled shutdown of several large water mains at the time of the March water main break, including a 96-inch main from WSSC’s Potomac filtration plant to Tuckerman Lane, ultimately led to the mandatory water restrictions. The 96-inch main has been closed since the fall.
“Perhaps we have learned in this exercise that we could have done a little better. Instead of waiting for the entirety of the report or recommendations for repairs, our contractor vehicles do allow us as we know things to get started on them,” Gumm said. “We could probably shave some time off the repair process by doing that.”
Berliner asked Johnson for a comparison of WSSC’s performance to systems in other jurisdictions. He also discussed WSSC’s request for 80-foot setbacks for all buildings near major water mains such as the one that broke in Chevy Chase and repaving work from WSSC contractors after standard neighborhood water main repairs.
The full report WSSC officials gave the Committee today will be published on Montgomery County’s website.
Photo via WSSC
UPDATED: WSSC Leak In Wooded Area of Chevy Chase
UPDATE 3:30 WSSC crews have found a leak in a water main that may be contributing to standing water in a wooded area off Jones Mill Road in Chevy Chase.
It’s unclear how much of the water is from the leak or from melting snow, but this afternoon WSSC said there appears to be a leak in the 54-inch water main near 3217 Coquelin Terrace.
A press release this afternoon said the leak was at first thought to be in a relief valve, but WSSC crews have confirmed the leak was in the transmission main itself. There is no need for mandatory water restrictions, according to the release.
The main is connected to the 60-inch line that broke last Monday at Chevy Chase Lake Drive and Connecticut Avenue, but WSSC spokesman I.J. Hudson said it’s too early to know if the leak is in any way connected to last week’s event. The leak occurred 1.2 miles east of the Connecticut Avenue break, Hudson said.
No customers are without water service and no roads or traffic patterns have been affected by the leak. WSSC crews are using Jones Mill Road Neighborhood Park as an access point to the woods.
WSSC says a resident reported seeing water on the ground in the wooded area near the 3200 block of Coquelin Terrace on Monday.
The press release this afternoon said the main does have the acoustic fiber optic monitoring system that did not warn the WSSC in time to prevent last Monday’s main break. But the monitoring system is designed to detect the snapping of steel wires embedded in the pipe and not leaks.
WSSC: Repairs On Chevy Chase Water Main Almost Done
WSSC says repairs to the 60-inch water main that burst Monday night in Chevy Chase are almost complete and that mandatory water restrictions could be lifted this weekend.
The pipe broke on Monday at about 7:45 p.m., sending water shooting about 30 feet into the air near at the intersection of Chevy Chase Lake Drive and Connecticut Avenue. The break tore through some of the pavement on Chevy Chase Lake Drive and caused erosion in the nearby stream bank that led to a downed tree and downed power line.
Connecticut Avenue was closed in both directions from Monday night until all three southbound lanes were opened on Tuesday morning. Two lanes of northbound Connecticut Avenue, where the repair work was going on, were open yesterday.
WSSC this morning said some main aspects of the repair were completed yesterday, including grouting of the joints and re-installation of the Acoustic Fiber Optic monitoring system, the same system that will be under scrutiny for not providing an earlier warning of the pipe break when taken up at a future County Council Committee hearing.
A warning from a Chevy Chase resident of water leaking through the road about seven hours before the break will also draw attention. The Washington Post reported the story today.
WSSC reports that crews will flush out the repaired line today, part of the decontamination process before putting the transmission main back into service.
Once it is back in service, WSSC will lift mandatory water restrictions.
Photo via WSSC
Water Restrictions Meant To Encourage Cut In Use
Mandatory water restrictions are still in effect for WSSC’s 1.8 million customers in Montgomery and Prince George’s County after a five-foot pipe burst on Monday night in Chevy Chase.
But unless a neighbor sees and reports a violator blatantly using too much water, it’s unlikely any fines will be levied, according to WSSC spokeswoman Kira Calm Lewis. No customers have been cited in violation of the restrictions after Monday’s incident.
“We’re not out playing the gotcha game,” Lewis said. “We’re trusting people mostly to be on the honor system as far as abiding by the restriction. We’re asking them to be more thoughtful of their use of water and to not use any water that they don’t really need to over the next couple of days.”
The main transmission line burst Monday night, sending water shooting 30 feet into the air, causing downed trees and power lines and damaging Chevy Chase Lake Drive. WSSC officials say the right and middle lanes of northbound Connecticut Avenue are still closed and will likely be closed through today’s afternoon rush hour.
The agency is already facing scrutiny over the incident. County Councilman Roger Berliner (D-Bethesda-Potomac) announced yesterday he will schedule a hearing in which he’ll ask why a fiber optic monitoring system in the pipe did not warn of the break and why a nearby 96-inch water main has been out of transmission since November.
Berliner said it was the combination of the out-of-service line and the break that made WSSC impose the mandatory water restrictions, which encourage people to limit flushing toilets, put off washing clothes, limit the use of dishwashers, take shorter showers and turn off faucets after washing hands and while brushing teeth. There is a maximum $500 fine associated with the restrictions.
WSSC asks for the cut in water usage to ensure emergency services, such as firefighters and hospital workers, have enough pressurized water.
Lewis said while WSSC has patrol officers, meter readers and members of its customer care team who will investigate situations in the course of their daily activity, it’s not out looking for violators.
The last time Lewis could recall penalties under the restrictions was in July 2010, when a 96-inch water main was put out of service at Tuckerman Lane and Gainsborough Drive in Potomac.
After a few days, WSSC was short of its goal for 30 percent less water usage. In the first three days after the restrictions were put in place, WSSC police issued 233 warnings and two citations. Lewis said many of those warnings came from neighbors who saw their neighbors watering lawns or topping off swimming pools.
Repairs to the Chevy Chase water main break could take several days to finish, according to a Wednesday press release from WSSC. Workers are removing a 20-foot section of the pipe and replacing it with a new section today.
Lewis said the sooner WSSC can reach a comfortable level of water usage, the sooner it can lift the restrictions.
“The more compliance we get, the sooner we’ll be able to lift the restrictions,” Lewis said. “Honestly, if everyone cuts down on their usage, it makes this easier.”
Photo via WSSC
Chevy Chase Water Main Break Bigger Than First Reported
UPDATE 5:35 p.m. County Councilman Roger Berliner (D-Bethesda-Potomac) says he will schedule a meeting of his Transportation & Environment Committee as soon as possible to delve into what went wrong with the Chevy Chase Lake Drive water main break.
He called the break “very troubling,” and said WSSC general manager Jerry N. Johnson indicated he would answer questions at the meeting.
Berliner spoke with Johnson after penning a letter in which he asked for details on the pipe, the last time it was inspected and if acoustic fiber optic monitoring Montgomery helped pay for was ineffective in providing an early warning about the break.
In our conversation, I asked him directly whether the state of the art equipment that was intended to monitor this type of pipe — pipe made of PCCP, which was the type of pipe that burst on River Road several years ago, had been installed on this watermain. Mr. Johnson replied in the affirmative. That response of course raises a host of other questions — including whether the equipment installed was defective or whether WSSC failed to monitor it adequately. They need to have answers, and Mr. Johnson appreciates the urgency of being able to share with our community their assessment of what went wrong. I am scheduling a T&E Committee as soon as possible to provide a forum in which these questions and others can be aired and answered.
Berliner also said the mandatory water restrictions that are still in effect because of the break bring up another issue:
These restrictions are themselves a consequence of another issue that needs to be addressed — there has been a 96 inch main out of service since November. It is the combination of that 96 inch main being down plus this latest break that necessitates the water restrictions. Why the 96 inch main has been out of service this long is very troubling in and of itself and a matter that we will certainly explore with WSSC at the hearing.
ORIGINAL As northbound Connecticut Avenue rush hour traffic crawls by, WSSC officials now say the water main break at Chevy Chase Lake Drive that has caused a significant disruption since last night was larger than first reported.
The transmission line that broke, causing an estimated 60 million gallons of water to gush about 30 feet in the air and spill into the stream below, was actually a 60-inch pipe, not a 54-inch pipe.
Pepco and Washington Gas officials had to secure power and natural gas lines near the break. Montgomery County Police were able to reopen all three southbound lanes of Connecticut Avenue at 7 a.m., but all three northbound lanes remained closed until one was reopened this afternoon.
Part of the clean-up process included dealing with an electric utility pole that fell overnight when a tree, in the rapidly eroding creek bed, fell over.
Power outages resulted from the downed wires. Power was restored throughout the morning. WSSC said no customers were without water service as of this morning.
Photos from WSSC via Facebook
Berliner Asks WSSC For Explanation Of Chevy Chase Water Main Break
County Councilman Roger Berliner (D-Bethesda-Potomac) this morning released a letter to WSSC general manager Jerry N. Johnson asking about the status of the 54-inch water main break in Chevy Chase that left downed trees, snarled Connecticut Avenue traffic and mandatory water restrictions in place for Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties.
The break happened at Chevy Chase Lake Drive and Connecticut Avenue.
WSSC said in a press release this morning that no customers were without water.
Southbound Connecticut Avenue reopened at 7 a.m. this morning, but northbound Connecticut Avenue remains closed between East-West Highway and Jones Bridge Road and traffic remains difficult through the area.
The road closure has led to the closure of the Chevy Chase Library and access to the 8401 Connecticut Avenue office building remains closed off.
WSSC said the pipe that broke began operation around 1980.
Dear Mr. Johnson:
I am writing with regard to the 54 inch water main break that occurred last night (March 18) which has snarled rush hour traffic, led to mandatory water restrictions in Montgomery County, and led to some power outages in the vicinity of the break. I know WSSC is doing everything it can to perform emergency repairs and get the water main back on-line.
Please let me know how many (if any) customers in the area are currently without water (and if so, if WSSC is delivering water to those households), if any vulnerable populations are without water or power at this time, whether there were any injuries resulting from the break, and whether any additional interagency cooperation is needed (with the County, Pepco, or others).
I am also interested in what the status of this section of PCCP pipe is with regard to WSSC’s ongoing large diameter main inspection/repair/acoustic fiber optic monitoring work. It is my understanding that all large diameter pipes (48 inches or greater) will have gone through at least one round of inspections/maintenance/AFO monitoring by the end of FY13. Both the Montgomery and Prince George’s Councils have supported all of WSSC’s funding requests for its large diameter pipe work and it would be of great concern if this segment of pipe had been inspected recently and been found to not need any repairs or if acoustic fiber optic monitoring had been installed but is ultimately ineffective in providing an early warning of an impending break.
Please keep the Council informed as to your progress repairing the main, as well as any information you collect regarding the cause of the break.
Photo via WSSC
Chevy Chase Water Main Break Closes Connecticut Avenue
UPDATE 6:45 a.m. All WSSC customers are under mandatory water restrictions because of last night’s 54-inch water main break in Chevy Chase, which has northbound Connecticut Avenue shut down with downed trees and utility poles.
The break to one of the WSSC’s transmission mains happened at about 8 p.m. at the intersection of Connecticut Avenue and Chevy Chase Lake Drive and sent water shooting about 30 feet high, according to WSSC.
The mandatory restrictions mean WSSC’s 1.8 million customers in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties must limit flushing toilets, put off washing clothes, limit the use of dishwashers, take shorter showers and turn off faucets after washing hands and while brushing teeth.
WSSC lost an estimated 60 million gallons of water from the break and wants to make sure fire departments and hospitals have adequate water service.
“Please don’t hoard water,” WSSC general manager Jerry N. Johnson said in a statement. “We’re not running out. But if everyone can cut their water use by 10 percent we should be OK. We appreciate everyone’s understanding and cooperation.”
The break occurred in a Pre-stressed Concrete Cylinder Pipe (PCCP), WSSC said. It went into operation around 1980 and WSSC said it was unable to determine the cause of the break. There are no customers without water service.
Washington Gas and Pepco officials have been working on the scene to secure natural gas and electric lines that run along the main.
Montgomery County Police this morning said Connecticut Avenue between Jones Bridge Road and East-West Highway would remain closed in both directions until Pepco clears power lines that came down and the area is deemed safe.
The southbound lanes open around 7 a.m.
WSSC said a violation of the mandatory water restriction carries a fine of up to $500.
Parks Officials Discuss Plans For Willard Avenue Park
Montgomery Parks officials hope to have a revamped Willard Avenue Neighborhood Park finished by this summer, a refreshing development for many who gathered on Thursday night in Friendship Heights at a public meeting.
Parks planners and residents agreed the Park, now 24 years old, isn’t used as much as it could be and suffers from a lack of visibility. Parks had to remove the old playground because it had rotted out. The Park, near the intersection of River Road and Willard Avenue, sits in a flood plain and includes steep slopes and a stream.
Parks presented two options for replacing the playground and providing new exercise equipment along the existing trail. The department of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission will also clear out some space along River Road to make the park more visible.
Most residents seemed against the idea of an expanded parking lot that they said would allow the 5.1-acre space draw from a wider area. One man suggested a turf soccer field. A group of teenagers asked about the possibility of a small skate park, perhaps similar to the skatepark at the Woodside Urban Park in Silver Spring.
Park Project Manager Kathy Dearstine said staff would look into that possibility. The small basketball court is slated to remain.
Photo via Montgomery Parks
Meeting On Upgrades At Chevy Chase Park
Montgomery Parks on Thursday will hold an open community meeting to discuss proposed playground renovations and upgrades to the Willard Avenue Neighborhood Park near the intersection of Willard Avenue and River Road in Chevy Chase.
Parks wants to put in a new playground, improve visibility of the park from River Road and add new exercise equipment along the trail. The 5.1-acre park was acquired by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission in 1977.
The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Village Center (4433 South Park Ave., Chevy Chase) and those interested will soon be able to provide input online at ParkProjects.org. For contact information, see Parks’ public notice for the meeting.
Image via Montgomery Parks
