Maryland Homeowners Go Out Of Their Way To Go Out Of Their Way

It turns out that you’ve got to get up pretty early to pull the wool over the eyes of D.C. suburbanites, even when it’s for their own good.

A staffer at the Natural Resources Defense Council reports that some residents of Rockville, MD oppose a light-rail system that’s been planned for their King Farm neighborhood. They feel that there’d be no benefit in a light-rail, or rapid transit bus, system. The NIMBYists are happy to commute, shop, and play in the usual way: by car. They’ve started or joined more than one coalition in order to maintain the status quo. Community residents have stated that a light-rail track running down the middle of their conspicuously wide median would be an underutilized, visual blemish. ”Nothing doing,” they say.

Thing is? The community was planned around the light-rail that they don’t want. In fact, King Farm received several awards and accolades for its forward thinking and use of public space.

The community developers dropped the ball on this one. If they had a) built the transit system in conjunction with the now-occupied homes, shops, and public buildings; or b) shared with prospective buyers the intent to put in a line at some point down the road (no pun intended) this would be a non-issue. As it is homeowners feel hoodwinked, award-givers are feeling gunshy, and the decision has been bumped up to the the Maryland governor, Martin O’Malley. +1 for bureaucracy.

Even though the developers should’ve done a better job of communicating their design and intentions, it’s very likely that the residents will ultimately pay the price (this time: pun intended). Public radio’s Marketplace recently ran a story sharing some anecdotal information that homes & properties within walking distances of public transportation have been largely insulated from the collapse of the housing bubble. By ‘insulated’ I mean prices for homes near public transit are between 140% and 200% of their driving-distance sprawling comparables, where h0me prices have fallen significantly.  You can listen to the story here.

Thanks to @TreeHugger, NRDC Switchboard, and APM Marketplace

 

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