ROCKVILLE, Md. — As Montgomery County officials continue to work on plans for the redevelopment of downtown Bethesda, there are more questions about the impact on parking.
In a Feb. 13th letter to the county Department of Transportation director, Montgomery County President Roger Berliner asked for a “thorough analysis of future parking supply” in downtown Bethesda.
In his letter to DOT Director Al Roshdieh, Berliner pointed out that under an agreement with the county, the future headquarters for the Marriott Corporation will get daytime parking spaces at the Woodmont garage for its employees, removing nearly 1,000 spaces from the county’s supply.
Berliner asked if the impact of losing those spaces can be blunted by redirecting drivers to other, nearby garages, or if public-private partnerships to provide parking could be examined.
At a briefing with reporters on Monday, Berliner was asked what might happen to the current surface parking lots that parallel Wisconsin Avenue: the Leland Street parking lot, the Farm Women’s Market parking lot and the Maple Avenue lot, for example.
Berliner said that’s part of the discussion of future plans for downtown Bethesda and explained that some of those surface lots might be suitable for future park sites.
“It is hard to get parks in downtown Bethesda,” he said. There are also discussions about developing those lots but including underground parking at those sites. “That’s one of the reasons why I want to get an assessment: How much parking do we need and what are our options for meeting those parking needs?”
