EPA Declares King Farm Smart Growth Illustrated

Photo from EPA Smart Growth Website

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has posted a case study on Rockville’s King Farm as a prime example of Smart Growth. Beleving it is easier to communicate ideas about density, design, walkability, and housing and transportation choice with pictures rather than with words, the new Smart Growth Illustrated shows techniques used in different places. King Farm was chosen to illustrate available transportation options.

King Farm is described as a transit-oriented development which takes full advantage of the wide variety of current transportation choices and might be even further connected by the proposed Corridor Cities Transitway (CCT)

The Shady Grove Metro station is just across Frederick Road from the King Farm community. The Metro provides rail access to Rockville, Bethesda, and much of the Washington metropolitan area. King Farm operates private shuttle buses in a continuous loop, Monday through Friday, to the Shady Grove Metro station for residents, guests, and employees of King Farm’s businesses.

A proposed Corridor Cities Transitway will provide light rail or bus rapid transit from the Metro station, through King Farm, continuing through Gaithersburg, Clarksburg and possibly all the way to Frederick, Maryland. Interstate 270, Maryland’s Technology Corridor, is just a short drive away from the King Farm office buildings. In addition, parks, schools, and the Metro station are linked to the neighborhoods and surrounding communities by a series of bike paths.

The case study describes King Farm as a very walkable community:

Generous sidewalks, narrow streets, and an interconnected street grid make walking within King Farm very easy. Most of the parking for apartments, offices, and stores is on the street, behind buildings, or in parking structures to make the streets more pleasant for walking. Larger buildings are on or near the lot line, and pedestrian pass-throughs allow easy access to parking lots from the street. Even the gas station is designed for pedestrians. Instead of the usual pattern of pumps in front and store in back, the “gas backward” design at King Farm brings the convenience store to the corner for easy pedestrian access.

The EPA joined together with the Partnership for Sustainable Communities with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U. S. Department of Transportation for this project to “help improve access to affordable housing, more transportation options, and lower transportation costs while protecting the environment in communities nationwide”.

King Farm is a national model for smart transportation principals.

Metrorail Increases Fares [Updated]

Update: News Channel 8 is reporting that Metro must delay the start of the peak surcharge until later in August due to the “memory limitations of fare gate technology”. Read the story here. You would think they would have known …

This Sunday, August 1, 2010, Metrorail will change some fares and pricing. After checking on their handy Trip Planner, I didn’t find any “discounts”.

Peak Travel Surcharge

If you travel during peak commuter times on weekdays, you’ll have to pay a 20-cent surcharge for your trip. Be prepared for the price hike from 7:30 to 9 AM and from 4:30 to 6 PM. Metrorail opens at 5 AM so early risers can avoid this increase. The surcharge is based on the starting time of the trip when a customer enters the fare gate at a Metrorail station.

As an example:
Rockville to Metro Center during Peak Times will go from $5.00 to $5.20

Senior citizens and people with disabilities who pay their fare with a Reduced Fare SmarTrip® card or a Senior SmarTrip® Card will be charged a 10-cent surcharge during the same peak travel periods.

Metro explains:

The surcharge will generate vital funding, and it will encourage customers who have the flexibility to ride during less crowded times, alleviating congestion during the peak periods.

You might be able to save money and get a seat if you avoid the peak commuter times.

Increased Fares For Paper Cards

Although Metro is touting a 25-cent discount for using a SmarTrip® card instead of a paper fare card, when I used the Trip Planner the result indicated the fare will remain the same for Smar Trip® card users. The price will actually be 25-cents higher if you use a paper card starting on August 1st

As an example:
Rockville to Metro Center off peak hours is $2.75 now and will be $3.00 on August 1st unless you use a Smar Trip® card which will keep it at $2.75.

Lower Price for SmarTrip® Cards

What if you want to take advantage of the lower price? Right now you can purchase a SmarTrip® card for $5.00. But if you wait until August 29th, the price will be lowered by 50% to $2.50. Metro says they are doing this to help customers to take advantage of the SmarTrip® discount. If they REALLY wanted to help, they’d start selling them for $2.50 on August 1st when the fares go up. But I guess we should be grateful since this is the first time Metro will reduce the price of the cards since SmarTrip® was introduced in 1999.

Increase in Price for 3 Passes

The cost of three Metrorail passes will increase on August 1st. The Weekly Short Trip Pass will be $32.35, the Weekly Fast Pass will be $47, and the Transit Link Card for MARC and VRE riders will be $102.

If you want to check, Metro has updated the Trip Planner feature on its web site to allow customers to find the cost of their future trips. Enter your trip information with a date after August 1 to find out how much you will be paying. I didn’t find any discounts off current fares, but let me know if you do.

Speaking of the Rockville Metro, does anyone know why the trees lining the sidewalks to the east entrance of the station were removed? A reader has asked and we can’ t find the answer. Now we’re curious!

RideOn Eyes Cutting 'Round Rockville' Route 45 On Saturdays

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Drawing From The City

According to Rockville Central friend Max van Balgooy, one issue on citizens’ minds at the recent meeting of the Mayor and Council in Twinbrook is RideOn bus Route 45. Specifically, Montgomery County is considering canceling Saturday service on this route in order to plug the hole in its budget.

This seems a shame, and short-sighted given that just a few years ago it cost almost a million dollars to get the route up and running, and that it is envisioned as a key element in the business development plan for Rockville’s town center area.

Our friend Jonathan Smith let us know that the County has scheduled a public forum on the Route 45 (and other routes) cancelation. It is:

Monday, February 1, 2010
6:30 pm until the last speaker is done (whew!)
Executive Office Building Cafeteria, Terrace Level
101 Monroe Street, Rockville, Maryland

If you use this bus, you might consider making yourself heard at this meeting.

Getting From Maryland To DC On Inauguration Day

Many >Rockville Central friends and readers have told me they plan to make their way from Our Fair City down to the mall to take part in the festivities surrounding the Inauguration of President Obama.

Those in the know are forecasting serious travel difficulties, and I have heard from a number of people who are nervous about how to get there, when to go, what to do, etc.

There is a helpful piece today by the Washington Post’s “Dr. Gridlock” that gives good detail.

It also contains a sober warning:

“Marylanders have more choices, but they’ll need to make smart choices. And like everyone else, they have only one chance to get it right. If they don’t, they’ll miss the swearing-in, a flight from National, a doctor’s appointment or starting time at work — by a lot.”

If you have made plans to go down to DC on January 20, please consider sharing in the comments section, so others can benefit.

(For Rockville Central readers who cannot make it to DC that day, we plan to be at the Inauguration viewing hosted by the City. It’s in the council chambers at City Hall from 10 am until 2 pm. See you there!)