PARK PLANS IN POTOMAC DRAW HEAT Neighbors oppose new Rockwood Manor driveway. A-3
NEWS: The new director of an Olney recreation center is filling some big shoes. A-3
The Gazette ROCKVILLE | ASPEN HILL | POTOMAC | OLNEY
SPORTS: Richard Montgomery may be the county’s best 4A boys basketball team. B-1
DA I LY U P DAT E S AT G A Z E T T E . N E T
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
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County puts brakes on Olney BRT study
Sticky stuff
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Community had opposed plans for bus rapid transit system BY
TERRI HOGAN STAFF WRITER
TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE
Tyler Potyk, 10, of Olney makes peanut butter sandwiches during Montgomery County’s day of service activities Monday at the county conference center in North Bethesda. The sandwiches were added to bag lunches for area shelters, homes and kitchens for those in need. About 2,000 people participated in the service activities, held to mark Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
C&O Canal park mulls hiking fees Proposal would expand number of parking sites that charge users
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BY
PEGGY MCEWAN STAFF WRITER
Bikers, hikers and others who enjoy the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historic Park and its towpath may have to pay more, under a National Park Service proposal. Currently, the only site along the park’s 184.5-mile length from
Cumberland to Washington, D.C., that collects fees is the Great Falls Visitor Center in Potomac. Jon Jarvis, National Park Service director, has authorized park superintendents to begin exploring an increase of entrance fees and establish a standard for those fees, according to a news release. The idea is to bring the fee structure into compliance with other parks in its category, such as Antietam National Battlefield. “Keep in mind that this is a proposal. If there isn’t public support for this, it won’t happen,” said
Kevin Brandt, superintendent of the C&O park. “We encourage people to express their opinions.” Park officials are exploring charging for parking at other entrance sites in Maryland, plus at Fletcher’s Cove in Washington. But whereas Great Falls has a staffed toll booth for paying, other sites could have either a credit card system or one in which users leave a fee in an envelope and deposit it in a box. After paying, the user would get a receipt to place on the dashboard, Brandt said. The entrance fee at Great Falls
is $5 per vehicle or $3 per person entering on foot or bicycle, with those charges valid for three days. There is no charge for visitors age 15 or younger. The proposed increase would triple the parking fee to $15 and increase the time limit to seven days. For walkers and bicyclists, the cost would rise to $7 and also be valid for seven days. These new rates would be lower for park users west of Seneca Creek near towpath mile 22. Camping fees would increase,
See FEES, Page A-12
Storage facility could factor in city election Project’s foes say Rockville council’s vote will be an issue n
BY
RYAN MARSHALL STAFF WRITER
The fight over a proposed storage facility in an east Rockville neighborhood could have ramifications in the city’s November election. One of the main opponents of the facility that Siena Corp. of Columbia seeks to build on the site of an abandoned property on Taft Street in Rockville says the matter will “absolutely” be an issue in the election, when voters will elect a mayor and all four City Council members. The mayor and council are con-
See STORAGE, Page A-12
See STUDY, Page A-12
Neighbors oppose bus depot, school center moves
Rockville-area residents seek to grow awareness amid range of concerns n
BY
LINDSAY A. POWERS STAFF WRITER
DAN GROSS/THE GAZETTE
A proposal to build a public storage facility on the site of this former Wonder Bread store at 1175 Taft St. in Rockville has sparked opposition and could become an election issue.
Residents from Rockville and other parts of Montgomery County expressed heated opposition Thursday to a school system plan to relocate a bus depot and an education center in the Rockville area. At a community meeting of dozens of people at the Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy, many attendees indicated their concerns about both relocation plans. Some said their goal is to build momentum against the changes. The school district plans to move its Shady Grove Transportation Depot to the site of the Blair G. Ewing Center as part of its fiscal 2015-20 Capital Improvements Program. The center would move to the former English Manor Elementary School, now occupied by a private school. Some attendees questioned how the school system will fit the bus depot on the Ewing site and the
See MOVES, Page A-12
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sidering a zoning text amendment that would prohibit self-storage facilities within 250 feet of the boundary of a school property, which Siena has said would cripple the proposed Taft Street project. The company has indicated that it intends to pursue legal action if the city moves forward with the proposed amendment. The planned project has drawn vocal opposition from residents in the area, who fear the facility will be out of place and proportion in their neighborhood. It’s very clear that there are some members of the council who listen and respond to residents’ concerns and some who would rather address the interests of developers, said Rockville resident
A proposed bus rapid transit system route in Olney, which has sparked strong community opposition over the past year, has been stopped in its tracks. County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) announced Friday his decision to end the transit system study for the Georgia Avenue corridor from Wheaton to Olney. In a letter to individuals who had applied to serve on the Georgia Avenue Bus Rapid Transit Corridor Advisory Committee, Leggett said the committee would not be convening, because he had decided to end the study. He wrote that while there was initial interest in evaluating a number of rapid transit projects, he realized resources are limited and prioritization is necessary. “Thus, we need to look at dedicating resources to corridors that are expected to have the greatest potential for attracting users to high-quality transit service in areas with greater levels of planned devel-
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YOUR FRIEND, OUR FRIEND ... Lumina Studio Theatre brings Dickens’ final novel, “Our Mutual Friend,” to life on stage.
Volume 27, No. 35, Two sections, 32 Pages Copyright © 2014 The Gazette
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