Are MoCo Gas Stations Becoming a Thing of the Past?

Are gas stations in Montgomery County destined for the same fate as beepers, fax machines and MySpace? In Bethesda, development shifts suggest residents of Washington, DC's inner suburbs are less interested in cars as the main mode of transportation, The Washington Post reports. 

Three prominent gas stations in the neighborhood's Wisconsin Avenue strip have stopped pumping fuel, including Eastham’s Exxon Servicenter, a gas station and service shop that operated in Bethesda since 1929. Washington Property Company hopes to construct a nine-story, 145-unit residential building at the site, Patch reported. 

The last gas station on the street, a Sunoco, will be redeveloped into an office building, the newspaper reports.

The Post writes: 

The dwindling number of stations reflects a transformation underway in some of Washington’s inner suburbs as they continue to evolve from car-centric sprawl into more densely developed hubs built around walking, cycling and public transit. It also underscores recent changes in the gas station industry that have made it more difficult for stations on smaller parcels to make money, leaving owners more eager to sell.

Statewide, Maryland has nearly 400 fewer gas stations than it did 10 years ago, The Post reported.

Montgomery County residents may not be eager to have more stations, either. A proposal by discount retailer Costco to build a gas station adjacent to its Wheaton location was opposed by the Montgomery County Planning Board last February. A series of public hearings are currently underway. 

“Do I think there are better uses for those properties than gas stations? Yes, I do,” Councilman Roger Berliner (D-Dist 1) said of the Costco gas station.

“[. . .] I don’t perceive gas stations to be something you want on your main commercial street.”

What do you think? Is there a gas station shortage in Bethesda or other parts of Montgomery County?