ROCKVILLE, Md. — Over the last century, Rockville Pike in Montgomery County, Md., has grown, unfettered and unplanned, into a sprawling strip city — a hodge-podge of shopping centers, parking lots and gridlocked traffic that frustrates motorists and discourages pedestrians.
But now, a grand makeover is planned for one section of the pike, which begins as Wisconsin Avenue in Washington and is officially State Route 355, that would create a pedestrian boulevard using the principles of the “smart growth” movement. Planners say it could be a model for transforming clogged suburban arteries into livable, walkable communities with denser development and less sprawl, an improved quality of life and a healthier tax base.
The project, called the White Flint Sector Plan, is a collaboration of major developers, planners, politicians and community groups whose interests are not often in sync. A partnership of six developers, normally competitors, got it off the ground.
“Developers got together three years ago and said ‘We can’t move forward unless we solve this traffic problem,’ ” said Rodney A. Lawrence, a principal of the JBG Companies. JBG, based in Chevy Chase, Md., is completing a 24-story apartment tower and retail complex known as North Bethesda Market, which was begun under a previous plan but is in line with the new one.
The White Flint plan, which is expected to take 20 to 25 years to complete, aims to create a new destination where residents live, dine, work and shop, all within walking distance. All together, there would be 9,800 new residential units and 5.69 million square feet of commercial space.
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