Red Line closure impact

The Red Line has been closed for a little over a week now and will remain closed through September 6. (More information here.) I think there has been enough time to work out any kinks in the process and everything should be running smoothly, but is it?

I went to the North Bethesda (formerly White Flint) metro station this morning during rush hour to find out. As you might imagine, when a Read Line train comes in from the north, and everyone gets off, there are a lot of people.  To continue south most people cross under MD-355 using the tunnel, but some folks use the crosswalk.  With all those people showing up at once, there is a long line to board buses. 

Buses lining up

The good news is that there are a lot of buses ready to take them away.  It looks like they load three at a time (I think the fourth bus is the local bus that stops at every metro station along the way, not nearly as many people take that). As the buses fill up they move away, but new buses don't immediately pull up, I think they wait until all three are done loading.

A lot of buses

There are a lot of buses waiting, here is the other side of Old Geoorgetown Road at Pike and Rose, there is a line of buses in the right lane that goes to the next traffic light. I think there are 8 or 9 waiting, plus some waiting on the near side of the light, plus the ones loading.

 

Leaving the station

As people walk out of the station, there is someone directing them to the shuttle buses, and a lot of signs too.

The whole process seems to be going reasonably well. It shows how many people take the Red Line each day.  It does take longer, probably a lot longer. Not only do the express buses take time (about 26 minutes) to get from North Bethesda to Friendship Heights, you also have to get off the train, exit the station, cross the street, load onto the bus (which can take a while if it is busy), then reverse the process at the end. 

Northbound stop

Not many people were going north on the shuttles to rejoin the Red Line towards Shady Grove here. In fact, most of the shuttle buses that went by were out of service as the sped north to get back in line and go south.

Bethesda Metro Station closed though September 6

 

From July 6 through September 6, the Red Line is closed between North Bethesda and Friendship Heights. That means Grosvenor-Strathmore, Medical Center, and Bethesda stations are closed. This is so that some track work can be done and so that the a mezzanine at the new south entrance to Bethesda Station can be built.

 Here in Bethesda, the escalators at the bus bays down to the station are blocked off and there are many signs directing you.  There was also a friendly person who gave me a flyer and told me where everything was.

Temporary shuttle stop

There are express buses that run from North Bethesda directly to Friendship Heights and local buses that stop at all the stations.  The shuttle stop southbound (pictured) is at Wisconsin Avenue and Montgomery Lane, where the metro elevator is located and near the old post office building. The northbound stop is at Wisconsin Avenue and East-West Highway, directly across from the station entrance and next to the building with a tunnel to the metro in it. 

Northbound shuttle stop

Here's a Red Line shuttle metrobus stopped at the temporary shuttle stop across from the metro station.  The two people on the left are there to help you find your way.  Not many people got on this bus but a number of people got off, this was on Sunday morning (today)

This was also this morning. The two yellow buses are express shuttles, the sign above the window would alternate between "Red Line" and "Express". on the left you can see a Metrobus that is being used as the Red Line Local shuttle.  This is Southbound on Wisconsin Avenue at Old Georgetown Road.

I took this photo on Friday before 9 am.  This is the temporary bus lane that runs southbound on Wisconsin Avenue.  The bus lane is only active Monday-Saturday, on Sundays anyone can use it. 

 

Washington Monument, late afternoon

 

I was at the Washington Monument a few days ago just before sunset and got this shot of it framed by the trees.  Lots of people playing on the lawn too.

Seneca Creek Greenway Trail

 Yesterday I went for a hike on Seneca Creek Greenway Trail in Germantown, MD. There is a parking area on the northbound side of MD-355 just after crossing Seneca Creek. From there you can take the trail to Watkins Mill Road.  The trail has a few hills on it, but isn't two strenuous.

As I was alking back I noticed this small stream that empties into Seneca Creek. The sun shown on the rock, the water, and some small plants, but there were also lots of shadows.

 

Spiderwebs in the sun

 

This morning I went for a walk on Cabin John Trail between River Road and Bradley Blvd and came across these dew-covered spiderwebs glistening in the sun.  On the way back, the sun had moved and the spiderwebs were entirely unremarkable.

 

UFC Freedom 250 is Sunday

 

On Sunday there will be a UFC (mixed martial arts) event at the White House, the UFC Freedom 250. The arena is currently being constructed, it is large and largely blocks the view of the White House.

 This is from the Washington Monument grounds looking across Constitution Avenue towards the elipse and the White House.  The white stand you see, as well as the black stage behind it (you can only see the canopy of it) is on the ellipse. Behind it you can see a blue and black checkerboard pattern, that is a huge digital screen.  Then, behind that is the arched "claw" of the arena with white stars on a blue background.  You can't really see it in this picture, but the actual White House is directly behind that.

UFC Freedom 250 arena

 It is a bit easier to see things when you are at the top of the Washington Monument looking down.  Now you can see the area with the claw canopy and a bit more of the White House.  In front of the area are three digital screens with checkerboard patters, VL is the Vertical Left one, VR is the Virtual Reality one (just kidding, I'm sure it means Vertical Right), then in the center is ST with a total LED resolution of 3848x1248.

 

 

 

 

Refilling the reflecting pool

 

I heard that they had started refilling the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and on Friday I decided to check it out.

The water is slowly filling the pool, starting from the center, which is the deepest part. There were some people powerwashing to bottom and there were a number of trucks and trailers parked in the pool but out of the water.  There was a group of people in an ATV that seemed to like driving through the water and did it multiple times.  Even at this stage, the pool is reflecting the trees around it (and the Washington Monument if you are directly in line).

Paris Baguette in Bethesda

Paris Baguette, located at 4925 Fairmont Avenue in the Woodmont Triangle part of Bethesda offers coffee and baked goods as well as sandwiches. I went last week and had a croissant with ham and cheese in it. 

One really nice thing about Paris Baguette is they have a large area of self service croissants and other bakery items that you can choose from. After selecting what you want, just bring it to the register to pay.

Sandwiches and cakes are also available, you have to ask at the counter.  One thing I didn't see much of were baguettes, I only saw a single basket of them. 

Outside Paris Baguette. It is located in the Sophia Bethesda building across the pedestrian walkway from Ellis Bethesda.

Painting the Reflecting Pool blue

 

Painting the Reflecting Pool blue

 

I decided to go down to the Lincoln Memorial today and see how the project to paint the reflecting pool blue is going.  It looks like they are over half done.  It is a very dark blue, almost black, much darker than I expected.

 

COMSAT building in Clarksburg being demolished

COMSAT Laboratories demolition

 

The COMSAT laboratories building, located at 22300 Comsat Drive in Clarksburg, Maryland, is currently being demolished. COMSAT (Communications Satellite Corporation) built this nearly 500,000 square foot research and development campus in 1969 and occupied it until 2005. Since then it has been mostly vacant and has been completely unused since 2015.

The building is clearly visible from Interstate 270 just before the exit for Clarksburg Premium Outlets (but on the opposite side of 270).

 The building was designed by architect Cesar Pelli, who also designed  the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur. This property was considered for historic site designation but in the end, the Planning Board did not recommend it as part of the 2025 Clarksburg Gateway Sector Plan.

I saw this reported by Bethesda Today and took pictures of it today. It doesn't look like much was accomplished in the past few days, but I could only see one side of the building.

Kenwood Cherry Blossoms

 

Over the weekend, the cherry blossoms were at their peak.  No need to go all the way to the Tidal Basin, Bethesda's Kenwood neighborhood has blossoms a-plenty.  I went on Sunday, along with lots and lots of other people.

 

Carter sticks his tongue out at the No Barking sign (thanks Pete)

 

Driving through the neighborhood was possible, but slow and undoubtedly frustrating.  There were also "No Parking" signs posted on many of the streets (and about an equal number of "No Barking" but that didn't seem to be much of a problem. 

 Hundreds of people and families were out walking around, or sitting in the common areas enjoying the weather.

 

There were a number of places that kids were selling lemonade and this one humorous sign advocating a lemonade tax.

 

I also posted about the Kenwood cherry blossoms in 2022. 

 

 

 

 

Construction at 4725 Cheltenham Drive

 The Chetlenham is a new multi-family residential building being constructed on Chetlenham Drive where the old Midas car repair shop was.  It is next to the CVS and on the other side of Wisconsin Avenue from the Marriott headquarters in downtown Bethesda, Maryland. I first posted about this in May of last
year.

  

The back of the building.  There is an alley to the left of the building which will remain.

 

According to the plan, it will be a 76,841 square foot nine-story building with 102 units including 8 live/work units.  There will be no on-site car parking, however there will be 53 long-term and 2 short-term bicycle parking spaces.  There is a public garage (number 42) directly across the street. Cheltenham Urban Park is also next door to the building.  

 

This building is surrounded by the CVS parking lot. Here you can see the CVS in the background to the left.

 

Back 'n Side

The view from near the CVS entrance at the back and one side of the building.

Visiting Glenstone museum

 Glenstone is a private, but open to the public art museum near Travilah.  Entry is free but you do need to get tickets in advance (except if you are a student, educator, or show up on the Ride-On Route 301 bus, see website for full details).  Glenstone focuses on post WWII art as well as distinctive architecture in a natural setting.  There is lots of walking, but most of the trails are paved. Most of the art is in the galleries, but there is quite a bit outside too.  The Museum's address is 12100 Glen Road, Potomac, Maryland 20854.

Interior courtyard

I really like the architecture, it is almost brutalist in that you have lots of flat gray walls, but instead of concrete, the walls are covered in rectangular slaps of stone (both outside and inside the building). The courtyard is almost entirely this water feature which, during the summer has more plants growing in it.  There is a deck and a bench so you can go outside and sit for a while.

 I went there for the first time this week.  Prior to this I had heard about Glenstone mostly because it's non-profit status was questioned. At the time, it was only open a few days a month and didn't allow many visitors.  The question was if it was a true non-profit or just a tax shelter.  I can't say whether that was true at the time, but now it has clearly moved beyond that and there is no question that it was built for the public to view. 

 

The lake

This is from outside the original gallery, you look across a lawn to a large pond, on onto the Rales house (where the founder of the museum lives. It's nice to be a billionaire). The trees on the far side are just starting to turn green. 

 Photography isn't allowed inside the buildings, but it is allowed outside, so these (and most pictures you'll see online) are from outside.  There are photos of some of the inside art on the Glenstone website if you want to see it.

“As Long As the Sun Lasts” by Alex Da Corte’s

It's Big Bird, but blue.  There was a movie in 1985, "Follow that Bird" where Big Bird gets painted blue, this sculpture references that.  It is set on a hill that slopes down to the pond and yes, it does rotate in the breeze.

 You can easily spend the whole day here and not see everything.  There is a cafe and a patio spot where beverages and pastries are sold.

Four Rounds: Equal Weight, Unequal Measure. Richard Serra

The museum has multiple Richard Serra works, this one is four cylinders that are different sizes but each is the same weight. It is housed in a custom built pavilion set off in the woods.  The pavilion is in the brutalist style and from the outside it just looks like an undistinguished block of concrete.  Inside however, it really showcases the sculpture and adds to the experience. 

 

 

Long-term roadwork on Eastbound Democracy at Fernwood

 

The work area west of Fernwood Rd

 Pepco is doing some emergency utility work on Westbound Democracy Boulevard at Fernwood Drive. This closes the right two lanes of Democracy Blvd, so only a single lane gets by.  This work could take as many as four months to complete, though the variable signs along the road say they will be done by mid-May.

  Pepco will work 7 days a week from 9:00 am to 7:00 pm but 24 hour work may be needed some of the time.  As you can see from the photos, they have put up jersey barriers in the construction area, so the lane closures are 24 hours a day, even if they aren't working.

Westbound on Democracy before Fernwood Rd

 The lane closure starts on the east side of the Fernwood Road, There is a length of road closed of by cones, before coming to a crash barrier and jersey wall protecting the workers.  They are doing work on both sides of the intersection.

 Pepco is working on restoring a fluid-filled underground transmission feeder that is part of their transmission network supporting distribution facilities throughout Montgomery County.

 

The solution to the housing crisis?

 Pepco has built a shed in the middle of the road to make it easier to complete the work.  Or, perhaps, the county is considering converting the two right lanes of all major streets into affordable housing.

Working on the east side

 A bit closer view of the work being done at Democracy Blvd and Fernwood Rd. And, yeah, still snow after all these weeks.

 

Update March 16: It looks like they got done much earlier than expected.  I drove by today and everything is cleaned up and all lanes are open. 

 

 

 

 

 

New electric car chargers coming in Bethesda

I noticed that the public county garage on Woodmont Ave and Edgemoor Lane is getting some level 2 Chargepoint chargers.  This is officially Garage 49, the Metropolitan Garage, it is the one close to Bethesda Metro Station. Level G1 four dual-port chargers. (Oddly, it looks like there are two spaces in the middle that aren't getting chargers.) There is also a dual-port L2 charger being installed at the handicap space near the Woodmont entrance.

 

Capital Crescent Trail, after the snow

 

I took a walk on the Capital Crescent Trail between River Road and Downtown Bethesda today.  The trail is clear to bare pavement the whole way there.  There were a lot of people out walking and a few people running or biking on the trail.  The county has done a very good job clearing it this storm. 

Capital Crescent Trail at Little Falls Parkway

 

 

Bikeshare Bike

This bikeshare station along River Road at the Capital Crescent trail has been visited by the bike angels post-snow storm.  There were two red bikesare bikes and one electric bike at the station and the wheels were on top of the snow (and you could see tire tracks on top of the snow) so they were clearly added post-storm.

River Road in the snow

The road itself is clear, but the bike lanes and sidewalks are not.  People have to walk along the partially cleared lane, or, like the guy at the top, run down the suicide lane in the middle.

Breakdown

Two people were putting gas in this bobcat in the suicide lane on River Road.  Not sure if that was the only problem or if other issues were also there.  Notice that the right lane in both directions is full of snow and not passable.

 

I saw someone on a side trail skiing.