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Washington D.C. and it's edge cities form a major job center. What do you think about a suburb 25 miles away becoming a job center and building massive development? Gaithersburg Md is expected to boom over the next decade or two which will change some commuting patterns. They are going to have a light rail in place (CCT)with 8 stops in the Gaithersburg city limits which will connect to metro by the time this growth is here. What is your take on this plan?
City of Gaithersburg 2030 Projections:
Gaithersburg without any future Annexation by 2030:
Land Area: 10.2 sq. mi.
Density: 9,632 sq. mi.
Population: 98,256
Jobs : 130,037
Gaithersburg by 2030 with MEL Annexation(MEL=Maximum Expansion Limit)
land area: 15.5 sq. mi.
Density: 8,925.4 sq. mi.
Population: 138,345
Jobs: 205,901
"Additionally, the City has delineated areas outside of the current incorporated limits. These
areas, defined as the maximum expansion limits (MEL), are sites that could realistically be
annexed into the City of Gaithersburg by the year 2030. The MEL includes current Montgomery
County enclaves such as the Rosemont neighborhood and larger under-developed tracts of land
such as the Belward Farm and the McGown properties2. The 2030 growth projections defined in
this document apply the same methodologies and visions to the areas in the MEL."
Maryland's doing a pretty good job with these town centers outside of DC in my opinion. I'd say they are a good idea because they allow people in the suburbs to experience a more urban environment and feel a sense of community without having to go into the city. Besides, the DC area is booming right now, so even if the city itself completely fills out there will still be room for growth in the edge cities.
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I think it's good, city centre's are being overloaded with traffic and people, and travelling all that distance is rather inefficient. Ideally no one should travel more than 20 km to work.
Have you been reading Joel Garreau, author of Edge City? If you remember one of the rules of thumb is that traffic congestion reaches a certain level, but not enough for a transit system, and newer edge cities arise to compete with that one.
Have you been reading Joel Garreau, author of Edge City? If you remember one of the rules of thumb is that traffic congestion reaches a certain level, but not enough for a transit system, and newer edge cities arise to compete with that one.
So, what does that mean in this situation? Does that mean Gaithersburg would not be an edge city because it's about to get basically it's own mass transit system 8 stations out of 15 light rail stations. Does that mean it becomes it's own city separate from the principle city and metro?
So, what does that mean in this situation? Does that mean Gaithersburg would not be an edge city because it's about to get basically it's own mass transit system 8 stations out of 15 light rail stations. Does that mean it becomes it's own city separate from the principle city and metro?
Light Rail isn't going to solve the masses uses there cars on 270 , and since the state is slow with upgrading the MARC line which is a better solution to widening 270 your going to see huge traffic issues.
Light Rail isn't going to solve the masses uses there cars on 270 , and since the state is slow with upgrading the MARC line which is a better solution to widening 270 your going to see huge traffic issues.
Marc will be upgraded long before I-270 is widened. The state will not have the money for I-270 for probably 50 years they said. That is the reason the CCT lightrail is going forward separate from the I-270 project even though they were one project at first. The state is building 3 different light rail's and upgrading 3 different Marc lines well before any road construction will take place.
So, what does that mean in this situation? Does that mean Gaithersburg would not be an edge city because it's about to get basically it's own mass transit system 8 stations out of 15 light rail stations. Does that mean it becomes it's own city separate from the principle city and metro?
The rule of thumb is that at floor area ratio of 1.0 traffic jams become an issue but light rail starts to "make sense" at 2.0. Obviously if Gaithersburg is already getting a light rail system it can rise to higher density. According to Garreau, a typical old downtown has a FAR of over 5. Of course it can not sever it's ties to DC.
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