Better urban experience: Bethesda, MD or Buckhead ATL? (skyline)
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There's a good mile or so of suburban scale development between Friendship Heights and DT Bethesda. Wisconsin Avenue transitions quickly out of the urban grid into divided highway north of the District Line. Never considered Friendship Heights part of Bethesda, more like 2-3 blocks of urban DC development that crossed the border before things transition to suburban densities. Additionally, Friendship Heights associates with Chevy Chase, not Bethesda, even though the B vs. CC zip code boundaries pick up part of the neighborhood. There are stores and apartments there claiming to be "of Chevy Chase".
I agree with this.
Google maps splits that small strip between 3 neighborhoods.
Precisely, which makes the division among the three quite arbitrary. The former Mazza Gallerie, Friendship Center, Chevy Chase Pavilion, the Shops at Wisconsin Place, and the Collection at Chevy Chase are all individual retail complexes but, along with other individual retailers (Brooks Brothers, Banana Republic, Saks Fifth Avenue, Louis Vuitton, Gap, etc.), collectively constitute the Friendship Heights commercial district that straddles the border of NW DC and Montgomery County. To say that whatever is on the DC side or within Chevy Chase proper doesn't count isn't very practical IMO.
Here's my logic. One entrance of the station is a block and a half down into DC proper by Booeymonger. The other entrances are on Western Avenue (the border between DC & Maryland). The station is physically in D.C. Plus the station has a DC address. https://www.wmata.com/rider-guide/st...ndship-hts.cfm
Yeah that’s what confused me. I just looked at the dc metro map and Friendship Heights is shown as being inside the Maryland border. That’s why I kept mentioning that this stop was in Chevy Chase (which is where I always remembered it being.
In actuality, I think theResident describes it correctly; because of the long tunnels, you can technically enter/exit the station in either MD or DC , since it sits directly on the border of the two.
Here's my logic. One entrance of the station is a block and a half down into DC proper by Booeymonger. The other entrances are on Western Avenue (the border between DC & Maryland). The station is physically in D.C. Plus the station has a DC address. https://www.wmata.com/rider-guide/st...ndship-hts.cfm
I don't have a problem with the jurisdiction in which the station is technically located as it still serves the greater Friendship Heights neighborhood which spans the DC/MD border and includes the southern portion of Bethesda. It can absolutely be considered as part of Bethesda in this particular matchup; that's my rebuttal to personone's argument that anything in DC shouldn't be considered.
But what Buckhead is missing is really good transit connectivity.
And Bethesda transit is totally top notch.
Bethesda, Maryland is actually one of my favorite suburbs in the nation.
Such a great blend of density, greenery, shopping, restaurants, parks, housing stock ranging from high rise apartments to single family homes, and amazing transit access... You have no need to own a car in Bethesda, Maryland. It feels as an extension of DC by all means...
Bethesda also has a really beautiful greenway that goes from Bethesda, Maryland to Georgetown in DC. It is such a beautiful trail and beats Buckhead in the park department as well.
Last time I was in Bethesda was in 1999 and despite having a rail stop I remember it being fairly auto-oriented and not that walkable. Sounds like it's improved a lot since then.
Location: That star on your map in the middle of the East Coast, DMV
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Quote:
Originally Posted by the resident09
Which location provides the better urban style of living? Which feels more like a mini-big city in it's footprint?
Discuss:
Walk-ability
Public Transit
Bicycling
High rise living
Parks/Rec
Housing diversity
Dining
Specifically Downtown Bethesda, or the DT Buckhead core.
To clarify I've reposted my OP from creation of the thread. Downtown Bethesda and the "DT Buckhead" urban core are the comparison. So although parts of Bethesda's municipality stretch all the way to the DC border, the comparison is starting from the part of Bethesda north of the 1 mile leafy suburban housing stretch in between Friendship Heights and DT Bethesda.
To clarify I've reposted my OP from creation of the thread. Downtown Bethesda and the "DT Buckhead" urban core are the comparison. So although parts of Bethesda's municipality stretch all the way to the DC border, the comparison is starting from the part of Bethesda north of the 1 mile leafy suburban housing stretch in between Friendship Heights and DT Bethesda.
And we've been considering all sorts of stuff outside of their downtowns from the jump...smh.
That's why I always specifically mention downtown in the title of the thread if that's the only part of cities I'm looking to compare because otherwise, that will get lost in the shuffle.
Last time I was in Bethesda was in 1999 and despite having a rail stop I remember it being fairly auto-oriented and not that walkable. Sounds like it's improved a lot since then.
Downtown Bethesda is now similar to Arlington, Alexandria, and Chevy Chase. It is definitely very walkable in its downtown. It still only has the one rail stop though. At the same time, a lot of people who live in DT Bethesda drive.
Mazza Gallery is closed. The owner sold it in 2020. The site will be a mix-use development. Neimans and the DC Saks are gone. The other Saks store which is one long block away in Bethesda is still open.
There is Bethesda Row, which is mall like but integrated into the new urbanist frabic (it doesn't feel like you're in door mall and it's connected to the street network) + very pedestrian friendly. Lots of construction going on adjacent to it.
Last edited by norcal2k19; 06-17-2022 at 10:08 AM..
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