The future CCT at Chevy Chase Lake

By Wayne Phyillaier

Crossposted from Silver Spring Trails

Chevy Chase Lake is where the Interim CCT crosses Connecticut Avenue. It is now a collection of small shops including Starbucks, two gas stations, a supermarket, a lumber yard, and the 13 story Chevy Chase Land Company office building that has City Bikes at the ground level. HOC residential buildings along Chevy Chase Lake Drive are also part of the sector. Parking lots cover much of the area.

View Larger Map

Interactive Google Map of Chevy Chase Lake

Trail users know Chevy Chase Lake for the long waits
at the traffic light to cross Connecticut Avenue.

Two big projects are coming that will change the trail and Chevy Chase Lake – the Purple Line and the Chevy Chase Lake redevelopment.

The Purple Line – with a CCT bridge over Connecticut Avenue:

The safety and convenience of crossing Connecticut Avenue on the CCT will improve greatly when the Purple Line is built. The plans call for the CCT to cross Connecticut Avenue on a trail bridge alongside the Purple Line light-rail bridge. The trail will have a direct connection to the elevated station platform on the east side of Connecticut Avenue. The MTA aerial photograph below shows the route of the Purple Line and CCT through Chevy Chase Lake, and the location of the station platform. More aerial maps are available at MTA’s Purple Line website that show better detail.

Future CCT bridge crossing of Connecticut Ave.
(source: MTA Purple Line aerial photograph)

The CCT will be elevated through much of the Chevy Chase Lake sector, on the bridge over Connecticut Avenue and at the transit station platform, and on the trail ramps that approach from both sides. This may become important, because future development may bring much local pedestrian activity to the sector. The trail elevation will allow us to keep trail/local pedestrian conflict areas limited to the designated trail access points.

The Chevy Chase Lake redevelopment – two competing visions:

On April 27, 2011 the Chevy Chase Land Company (CCLC) presented its vision for Chevy Chase Lake to the public at the National 4-H Youth Conference Center. That presentation is available as a YouTube video. Several illustrative drawings from that presentation were also shown in the Purple Line Progress Report that PLN President Ralph Bennett presented to the Affordable Housing Conference of Montgomery County on May 9, 2011.

Chevy Chase Land Company Illustrative Site Plan
(click on image for a larger view)

The CCLC vision is for transit oriented development of up to 4,000,000 sq. ft. of mixed commercial/residential uses, with about 3/4 of the development being residential (up to 3000 residential units). Building heights transition from 6 stories high at the edges to up to 19 stories high near the center. The plan features a local street grid with extensive public spaces, a public plaza at the Purple Line station, and neighborhood oriented ground level retail.

CCLC illustrative drawing of proposed Main Street public spaces

Looking west on the proposed Main Street
(the arrow at the left side marks the CCT ramp up to
the light rail station and bridge over Connecticut Ave.)

Montgomery County planning staff released a narrated video to present their very different recommendations for the new Chevy Chase Lake sector plan on June 8, 2011. That video is available on their Chevy Chase Lake webpage. The planning staff is recommending to the Planning Board that a smaller portion of the Chevy Chase Lake Sector be rezoned to allow slightly over 1,000,000 sq. ft. of mixed use (commercial/residential) development, 250,000 sq. ft. now and another 800,000 sq. ft. to be allowed when Purple Line construction begins. This is only slightly greater than that approved now under the current zoning. Building heights would be limited to 65 feet, only about six stories. (The CCLC building already on the site is 13 stories high, and a residential building now stands immediately south of the site alongside the Columbia Country Club that is 18 stories high.)

The CCLC and the Montgomery County planning staff visions differ greatly on the density to ultimately be allowed at Chevy Chase Lake – with the planning staff recommending only a marginal increase in the number of residential units over that already approved. The Montgomery County planning staff will hold a public meeting to present its recommendations at 10 a.m.-noon Saturday, June 18 at the Chevy Chase Village Hall, 5906 Connecticut Avenue.

Does the density at Chevy Chase Lake matter to trail users?

The major features of the CCT itself will not be impacted much by the different levels of density being proposed for the Chevy Chase Lake redevelopment. The trail ramps and bridge will not change, and most of the trail will be separated from the local pedestrian activity by being on elevated structure. Both the CCLC and the planning staff visions call for a public plaza at the Purple Line station, and the CCT would pass through that plaza area. A higher density would make this a more pedestrian active area. But careful design of the pedestrian crossing paths in this plaza will be mandated by the need to keep pedestrians clear of the light-rail activity that parallels the CCT. Pedestrian crossings will likely be focused to only one or two points and this will minimize the trail/pedestrian conflict areas.

A higher density at Chevy Chase Lake will have a bigger impact on trail users when they leave the primary trail in this area. Higher density with taller buildings makes it more likely we will have a good local street grid with public spaces, like that envisioned by CCLC. If the building height is limited to 65′ as called for by planning staff, then a developer must cover more available land with low buildings to get up to the FAR (floor-area-ratio) allowed by the zoning. A smaller project will also give less economic justification to set aside space for wide streets and public spaces, and the County will have less leverage to require these amenities as a condition for the project. There may be less local pedestrian and motor vehicle traffic in a smaller project, but the local street grid may be more limited, streets may be narrower, and space set aside for public use may be smaller so biking conditions could feel congested even with less traffic. Smaller may not be better for bicycle friendly conditions overall.

Trail users don’t have a strong reason to enter the discussion of density at Chevy Chase Lake to protect or advance the CCT. We have other reasons to join the discussion about how our region will grow, however, as members of the community. Trail users are likely to have diverse views about “smart growth” and “transit oriented development”. I’m joining the discussion as an individual in support of a higher density at Chevy Chase Lake. Opportunities for transit oriented development are very limited. We have a strong need for more residential housing to balance with jobs in the Bethesda area – especially for housing close to the National Naval Medical Hospital where up to 2500 new staff positions are coming with BRAC. If we won’t allow more residential housing units here, then where else should it go that is better?

And besides, I want to have one of those residential units. I’d love to live in a place like this.

Comments

[Krickey7]

I agree that this is an appropriate place for higher density. But between the planning staff's recommendation and the views of the surrounding neighborhood--which will be reflected quite vocally at this and every meeting on the development of this area--expect the staff's views to win out on the big issue of overall density. The constituency for higher density is smaller, albeit with larger financial resources. People like Washcycle who might want to live in a higher density setting simply are not represented.

[Krickey7]

Correction. I see it's posted by Washcycle, but these are not necessarily his views.

[charlie]

Why is this on Washcycle and not GGW?

Anyway, whenever I go by the bike shop, I wonder why we don't have more beer gardens on bike trails.

Separating the trail -- or elevating it -- sounds suspiciously like the Skybridge in Rosslyn.

[SJE]

Once they elevate the trails, will they treat them in the colder months etc to prevent freezing?

[Wayne Phyillaier]

The elevation of the trail in this area is for the trail bridge across Connecticut Ave., as part of the trail relocation with the Purple Line. The Purple Line is coming first, and the trail elevation here will be set with the Purple Line, regardless of what rezoning density decisions are made for the Chevy Chase Lake redevelopment.
Yes, bridges do ice during colder months. But I will gladly take that problem along with the trail bridge.

[JeffB]

@SJE,

SMC doesn't plow the existing paved portion of the trail today.

[SJE]

I realize that they don't plow the trail now, but its dirt and you can usually see things plus there is the dirt etc that makes it a bit more forgiving. I'm more leery of ice on paved surfaces.

Y'know, if they are going to make a giant MUT, it would be good if they keep it clear.

[Riley]

I have for the very first time, realized that the quiet, restful solitude that is the trail between Conn Ave and the industrial park terminus in Silver Spring is going to turn into a crowded, noisy thoroughfare someday soon. A fair trade off for the extension into Silver Spring proper plus the Purple line itself but still another bit of soon to be nostalgia.

Of course I remember when Glen Echo was an amusement park and when the CCT actually had trains running on it too so such things are always relative.

[Crickey7]

To the extent transit users will be crossing Connecticut avenue on it, I'll bet they keep it clear.

[Michael H.]

What's the timetable on all of this? Will it actually get built this decade? A better crossing of Connecticut Ave. would be nice, although I don't ride out that way too often.