Bethesda parking lot 31A temporarily closed (finally)

Parking lot 31A in Bethesda, MD on the corner of Bethesda Ave and Woodmont Ave is closed for the next 60 days or so for utility relocation. This is the really small parking lot, not the big one across the street. The closure is part of a larger project to build a large mixed-use building on the site of the current lot 31 (the large lot across from Barnes and Noble). That project will include a garage with public parking.

From reading the sign, it looks like there may be temporary lane closures on Woodmont Avenue related to this construction.

This lot closure has been scheduled many times before. First they were going to do it at the beginning of May, then in mid-June, then at the start of September, then on (or about) November 1st, then on November 16th. Other blogs might have jumped the gun and reported the 11/1 date, but not me, quadrice bitten twice shy.

UPDATE November 24th: "Closed" is a relative word, and in this case it means that several of the parking spaces are fenced off for storage of equipment. The rest of the small lot is still open however.

UPDATE December 7th: Apparently they re-scheduled the closure of the full lot to today but the re-scheduled it again for sometime in January 2010. So that is at least the seventh scheduled closing date. Never have I seen so much effort go into closing so few parking spaces. I wouldn't hold my breath for the January date being the real date.

It's a great day to be outside

Today is a really nice day. Much better than I thought it would be and it is a great day to get outside and enjoy the warmth. This afternoon should be near 70 degrees.

The big playground at Cabin John Park had lots of kids running around playing when I went by there earlier today.

Tomorrow should be pretty nice too, not as warm as today but not bad for this time of year.

Bethesda Fountains Part 9 (potd)

This fountain is practically next to last week's one, however, architecturally they couldn't be more different. The other fountain in Bethesda Place Plaza is more of a large shallow pool. This is a more traditional fountain and has a raised stone 'roof' It is on a very small hill and surrounded by trees.
Read all of the Bethesda Fountains series.

Woman hit by school bus in Bethesda, MD

Around 1:30 this afternoon a woman was struck and seriously injured by a school bus in front of Bethesda Elementary school, 7600 Arlington Rd., Bethesda, MD. Five students were believed to be on the bus at the time of the accident, none of them were injured. The woman later died from her injuries.

As of 4:00pm, Arlington Road between Old Georgetown Road and Edgemoor Lane in both directions was still closed for accident investigation. Alternate routes were crowded.

Update: 5:25pm: Arlington Rd in both directions is now open.

Sources:
Washington Post
WUSA 9

Bethesda Fountains Part 8 (potd)

The definition of a fountain can be hard to pin down. Do you really need water spraying in the air? I don't think so. In the middle of Bethesda Place Plaza is a large shallow pool with rocks in it. On weekends you see kids jumping from rock to rock while waiting for a table at the Original Pancake House. Sooner or later one will miss the rock and land in the water.

Even though it looks calm, there is a bit of a current because of the filter. I almost lost the duck because he went for a swim in the middle of the fountain.

Bethesda Place Plaza is easy to miss since it is raised a bit from most of the roads. You can get to it by going up stairs on Woodmont Ave, or the stairs by the Safeway on Old Georgetown Rd, or up some stairs of Commerce Lane, or from Wisconsin Ave (MD-355). In the summer they have lunchtime concerts here too.

Read all of the Bethesda Fountains series.

Review: Cornucopia Tuscan Rosemary Ham sandwich

For lunch today I made a trek to the ver edge of downtown Bethesda, MD. 8102 Norfolk Ave to be exact. Cornucopia specialty foods has imported Italian food, cheeses and lots of cookies. The purpose of today's visit was to get a sandwich for lunch so I skipped the plates with cookies piled high on them (this time).

I tried the Tuscan Rosmary Ham sandwich. The ham had a light coating of rosemary on the edge which was very flavorful. It went wonderfully with the balsamic vinegar that they put on the baguette. There was also cheese and tender lettuces on the sandwich. This is a really nice sandwich, fairly simple but with a distinctive flavor that sets it apart from other ham sandwiches I have had. The only downside was that the cheese couldn't compete with the rosmary and balsamic vinegar, I really couldn't taste the cheese at all.

There is limited seating there making this more of a place to pickup lunch and take it with you. It is also closed on Mondays.

Happy Halloween or is it Merry Christmas

It is that time a year again, everyone dresses up and dances around the Christmas tree before going trick-or-treating.

Wait, that isn't supposed to be how it goes. Isn't putting up holiday decorations before Halloween a bit early? It seems like there are only three seasons anymore: Christmas, Back to School, and Other.

There are holiday decorations went up earlier this week in front of the Barnes & Noble on the corner of Woodmont Ave and Bethesda Ave in Bethesda, MD and on Bethesda Lane by Redwood Restaurant. Both places have a Christmas tree and a Menorah so we get the requisite does of bi-holidayism.


Happy Halloween everybody.

Cool construction Stuff

Every now and then I walk by the construction on Woodmont Avenue between Hampden Lane and Elm Street in Bethesda, MD just to see how it is progressing. Sometimes they have some neat pieces of construction equipment, including this one, which I had never seen before. Last week was this unusual scene. There was a big truck of gravel, but instead of dumping the gravel on the ground, it was pouring onto a conveyer belt that was moving really quickly. At the end of the belt, the gravel was thrown off and flying through the air at high speed. It landed about 30 feet away at the bottom of the foundation.
Last month, I saw this concrete pumping truck. Nothing too unusual about it, but I love the name of the company "Grumpy's Concrete Pumping". If I ever start a company, I gotta have Grumpy as part of the name.

You can see the full coverage about this construction project.

Bradley Boulevard improvements planning

Currently in the early planning stage are improvements to Bradley Blvd between Wilson Ln and Goldsboro Rd. The master plan includes on-street bike lanes on Bradley as well as an off-road shared use path. The current study will evaluate connecting the existing sidewalk on Bradley Boulevard east of Goldsboro and an existing sidewalk on Wilson Lane to improve pedestrian safety and provide access to transit stops and the Bethesda central business district.

This project is still in the early planning phase. There will be a public meeting tomorrow October 27 from 7:00 - 9:00pm at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase regional services center, 4805 Edgemoor Ln, Bethesda, MD.

More information about the project is at the county website.

Bethesda Fountains Part 7 (potd)

A number of the office buildings in Bethesda, MD have fountains out front in a public plaza. This one is on the ever so uniquely named "East Lane" between Montgomery Lane and Hampden Lane. Behind the fountain is an abstract mural made with muted colors.

Read all of the Bethesda fountains series.