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SHOUT OUT: Bethesda Row Parking

How has the closure of Lots 31 and 31A affected you?

By Erin Donaghue
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April 12, 2012

13 Comments

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Lots 31 and 31A have closed to the public.

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Lots 31 and 31A have closed to the public.

Credit Erin Donaghue

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It finally happened -- Lots 31 and 31A in Bethesda have shut down in preparation for the construction of a major downtown Bethesda public parking garage.

The parking lots, which hold nearly 280 spaces and are located at the corner of Bethesda and Woodmont Avenues, will be closed for 30 months during the construction of the garage and residential and retail projects above it.

The lots closed to the public as of late Monday night. Once crawling with the cars of shoppers, hikers and diners, the lots are now empty except for a large construction trailer, and fences and signs warn pedestrians and drivers to stay out.

Since their closure early this week, how has the loss of the lots affected your life? Are you finding it more difficult to park on Bethesda Row? Have you walked, biked, or taken Metro or the Bethesda Circulator to get downtown? Are you parking farther away? Or are you staying away from Bethesda Row? Tell us in the comments.

Related Topics: Bethesda Row, Lot 31, and Parking

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john pekkanen

11:33 am on Friday, April 13, 2012

Parking Lot Blues

The parking lot is haunted by white-lined slots empty of cars.

Once the gateway to Barnes & Noble, movies, and restaurants, the lot is now
a macadam no man’s land defiled by port-a-potties and a promise of something unwanted.

The marauders took no time, gave no quarter. They beheaded its meters like Robespierre
on his best day, leaving metal poles anchored in cement to mark the gravesites.

They quickly posted “no trespassing” warnings, erected a fence uglier than mud
to surround their carnage.

Can the assault of the jackhammers be far behind?

People in their blue, green and white SUVs and BMWs looking for an empty spot once prowled its lanes like wolves eyeing sheep are forever banished to the hell of one-hour onstreet parking, forever denied the unmitigated joy of seeing backup lights aglow in an 8-hour space.

We feel as jilted lovers do, left to cherish memories of drivers desperate for an open spot on a Saturday evening becoming so infuriated that fights erupted, insults were exchanged, cars were keyed, tires emptied of air.

Entertainment better than the movies, for those of us who had already found a spot.

John Pekkanen

Katie Griffith

4:07 pm on Friday, April 13, 2012

John, you have made my entire weekend. Your parking poem is amazing! Interested in being the Bard of our sites? We could set you up to write poems about life in MoCo and publish them here whenever you want.

Erin Donaghue

11:59 am on Friday, April 13, 2012

Thanks, John! Love the idea of parking poems. Who wants to work on a Lot 31 haiku?