What Will Be The Next PG Destination (Silver Spring, Bethesda: crime, how much)

[UrbanScholar]

I read an article in the Gazette on what should be the next destination spot in PG. They discussed how the National Harbor has played an pivotal role in bringing new business to the county. That got me to thinking, what do you think the next destination will be for PG County?

Gazette.Net: County leaders consider entertainment, economics for next destination spot

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by UrbanScholar

I read an article in the Gazette on what should be the next destination spot in PG. They discussed how the National Harbor has played an pivotal role in bringing new business to the county. That got me to thinking, what do you think the next destination will be for PG County?

Gazette.Net: County leaders consider entertainment, economics for next destination spot

I think it's going to be New Carrollton. They have a lot of plans for that site. With the federal government and private industry there already, once they add the Maryland Housing Department, add retail, and add more housing around it, it's going to be a happening spot. Look at it like this, it's off of major roads, has Metro and MARC access, as well as Amtrak. It seems like it's a perfect fit for the whole transit oriented development, especially given that many of the things necessary for it are in place.

[UrbanScholar]

Originally Posted by pgtitans

I think it's going to be New Carrollton. They have a lot of plans for that site. With the federal government and private industry there already, once they add the Maryland Housing Department, add retail, and add more housing around it, it's going to be a happening spot. Look at it like this, it's off of major roads, has Metro and MARC access, as well as Amtrak. It seems like it's a perfect fit for the whole transit oriented development, especially given that many of the things necessary for it are in place.

Yeah New Carrollton does appear to have the most traction at the moment. Have they stated a projected timeline for the to be state of that area? Does it still have the issues with crime that it had previously?

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by UrbanScholar

Yeah New Carrollton does appear to have the most traction at the moment. Have they stated a projected timeline for the to be state of that area? Does it still have the issues with crime that it had previously?

As far as the timeline, I think adephi_sky would probably know more so than me.

As far as the crime issues are concerned, I don't think they have been completely addressed. My wife used to catch the train there and she said there are a lot of hidden areas which makes it more dangerous. Maybe if they add more places and have more foot traffic, they may think that will alleviate crime. I'm not sure that will work, but they will have to do something to help it. But even if they don't they will at least have the workforce to patronize their local businesses.

[adelphi_sky]

Originally Posted by pgtitans

I think it's going to be New Carrollton. They have a lot of plans for that site. With the federal government and private industry there already, once they add the Maryland Housing Department, add retail, and add more housing around it, it's going to be a happening spot. Look at it like this, it's off of major roads, has Metro and MARC access, as well as Amtrak. It seems like it's a perfect fit for the whole transit oriented development, especially given that many of the things necessary for it are in place.

I disagree. While New Carrolton has a lot of new "plans" for the area, there has been no developer as of yet who has brought up properties and proposed shiny new detailed site plans. In my opinion, Konterra is further along than New Carrollton. Konterra will actually break ground this year.

And even before Konterra becomes a "destination", and I know this may sound crazy, but College Park and the whole RT. 1 corridor has tons of momentum heading into the next 5 years. You have EYA arts district, a Whole Foods anchored town center, East Campus, and all of the redevelopment happening along that corridor. Couple that with campus events like sports and the performing arts center and I think College Park can become a top college town fairly soon. Like in the next ten years.

I just don't see New Carrollton rising from the ground as fast as we saw with National Harbor. And even National Harbor was 50 years in the making from concept to completion. My uncle who lives in Ft. Washington told me they were having meetings about National Harbor decades ago. It will take more than government offices and retail to make New Carrollton a destination.

[adelphi_sky]

Originally Posted by pgtitans

As far as the timeline, I think adephi_sky would probably know more so than me.

As far as the crime issues are concerned, I don't think they have been completely addressed. My wife used to catch the train there and she said there are a lot of hidden areas which makes it more dangerous. Maybe if they add more places and have more foot traffic, they may think that will alleviate crime. I'm not sure that will work, but they will have to do something to help it. But even if they don't they will at least have the workforce to patronize their local businesses.

So far I haven't seen any plans or developers drawing up much of anything. I think we won't see any momentum at New Carrollton for years. Maybe 5 - 10 years out. Unfortunately development is a long process. I do think that New Carrollton will become a destination, but not the "next" destination. There are already developments further along than New Carrollton.

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by adelphi_sky

I disagree. While New Carrolton has a lot of new "plans" for the area, there has been no developer as of yet who has brought up properties and proposed shiny new detailed site plans. In my opinion, Konterra is further along than New Carrollton. Konterra will actually break ground this year.

And even before Konterra becomes a "destination", and I know this may sound crazy, but College Park and the whole RT. 1 corridor has tons of momentum heading into the next 5 years. You have EYA arts district, a Whole Foods anchored town center, East Campus, and all of the redevelopment happening along that corridor. Couple that with campus events like sports and the performing arts center and I think College Park can become a top college town fairly soon. Like in the next ten years.

I just don't see New Carrollton rising from the ground as fast as we saw with National Harbor. And even National Harbor was 50 years in the making from concept to completion. My uncle who lives in Ft. Washington told me they were having meetings about National Harbor decades ago. It will take more than government offices and retail to make New Carrollton a destination.

I think the whole Route 1 thing is great, but there is a huge problem with getting to that area that present a problem. I believe that the biggest criticism from your favorite NIMBYs is that the Whole Food project will bring a lot of traffic. That area in general has too much traffic. People are not going to go out of their way to go to Whole Foods there and deal with a ridiculous amount of traffic when they can go to other places like Annapolis or Silver Spring, which are both much easier to navigate.

And I agree about the amount of time for New Carrollton. It is true that the National Harbor was in the plans for a long time (before I was even born in fact). But my point was, the infrastructure is there for it to have a base. New Carrollton doesn't need a lot to become a draw, a lot of what is already needed, already exist. You could add two restaurants over there by next year and they would have clientele and transportation to make it work. With a place like Konterra, for example, it has to become a destination like you stated and it is literally starting from ground zero. To me, it just seems like it is going to take much more effort to make it successful.

[adelphi_sky]

Originally Posted by pgtitans

I think the whole Route 1 thing is great, but there is a huge problem with getting to that area that present a problem. I believe that the biggest criticism from your favorite NIMBYs is that the Whole Food project will bring a lot of traffic. That area in general has too much traffic. People are not going to go out of their way to go to Whole Foods there and deal with a ridiculous amount of traffic when they can go to other places like Annapolis or Silver Spring, which are both much easier to navigate.

I think the traffic concern is a little overblown. I mean places that are great destinations draw people. More people = more traffic . I don't care how much access to transit a place has. I'm not sure where people get that successful cities SHOULD be busy and have a lot of hustle and bustle. That means people are stopping through. Look at Georgetown, Bethesda, Downtown Silver Spring. All have traffic in addition to public transit stations except Georgetown. Yet, Georgetown is still a preferred destination. In College Park you will have the Green line and the Purple line that should alleviate some of the vehicular traffic. But to say that College Park won't be a destination because of traffic is just not logical. If that's the argument then for all intents and purposes Georgetown shouldn't be as successful as it is. Neither should Downtown Silver Spring or Bethesda.

Let's be honest, I live within walking distance to College Park and I rarely see this horrendous traffic people complain about. I mean perhaps when there's a game at the university or an accident on the Beltway. I've seen it when it is backed up and the wait is not that long. Maybe 3 light cycles on a bad day? The main bottle neck is at Cherry Hill Lane. I've seen worse traffic where you sit at a light that only lets two cars per cycle through. College Park is nowhere near that bad. It's all about individual perception. If people can go to Georgetown with worse traffic, they can go to College Park.

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by UrbanScholar

Yeah New Carrollton does appear to have the most traction at the moment. Have they stated a projected timeline for the to be state of that area? Does it still have the issues with crime that it had previously?

Here goes the answer

Deanwood station logs most Metro crime in 2011 | Washington Examiner

Apparently it is no longer in the top 10.

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by adelphi_sky

I think the traffic concern is a little overblown. I mean places that are great destinations draw people. More people = more traffic . I don't care how much access to transit a place has. I'm not sure where people get that successful cities SHOULD be busy and have a lot of hustle and bustle. That means people are stopping through. Look at Georgetown, Bethesda, Downtown Silver Spring. All have traffic in addition to public transit stations except Georgetown. Yet, Georgetown is still a preferred destination. In College Park you will have the Green line and the Purple line that should alleviate some of the vehicular traffic. But to say that College Park won't be a destination because of traffic is just not logical. If that's the argument then for all intents and purposes Georgetown shouldn't be as successful as it is. Neither should Downtown Silver Spring or Bethesda.

Let's be honest, I live within walking distance to College Park and I rarely see this horrendous traffic people complain about. I mean perhaps when there's a game at the university or an accident on the Beltway. I've seen it when it is backed up and the wait is not that long. Maybe 3 light cycles on a bad day? The main bottle neck is at Cherry Hill Lane. I've seen worse traffic where you sit at a light that only lets two cars per cycle through. College Park is nowhere near that bad. It's all about individual perception. If people can go to Georgetown with worse traffic, they can go to College Park.

Well you are entitled to your opinion. I find the traffic in the Riverdale/Hyattsville/College Park area to be awful. I used to drive around there quite often and dreaded it. One of my least favorite areas to drive through.