Chevy Chase | Through the Interstices

I returned to Chevy Chase this afternoon. This area is a mix of residential with a strong commercial district along this block of Romany and Duke, which includes a grocery store. My first visit to the neighborhood was on Day 33, though this portion of Chevy Chase reminded me a little more of the Southland Drive area from Day 46, with lots of Cape Cods and large front yards. I’m surprised by the number of multi-family homes here, especially in the form of four-unit apartment buildings. Most of the buildings here date from the 1950’s, though there were some apparently newer places (for example along Providence near Romany). Even including the apartment buildings, the housing stock here appears to be in good shape, and I saw indications of number of remodel projects of various scales today.

This area, with its mix of single family, multi family and commercial seems well-suited to walking, but walkability suffers from some really wide corner radii. This area (like many others) would benefit from some sidewalk bump-outs. Bump outs shorten the distance between curbs. This has two impacts. One is that it forces drivers to take turns more slowly (giving them more time to spot pedestrians and less lethality if they hit us). The other is that by shortening the amount of road to be crossed, bump-outs lessen the perception of the street at a barrier. In at least one place, a solid white line is painted with the intent of making the radius smaller, but lines like these seem to be seen as suggestions or outright ignored by drivers.

Today, I had my first shot at walking through Chevy Chase. While I had some expectations based on its location and designation as a historic neighborhood that it would fit a relatively urban typology, it seemed more in line with the quiet but very nice suburban areas around Andover or Chilesburg, although there are some pre-World War II apartment houses located along Cochran as well as some duplexes from about the same time.

As in many other neighborhoods within a similar market range, there is a lot of construction going on here. It ranges from simple painting to more ambitious remodels (including one landscaping project where the architect’s sign in the yard proclaimed they were “building someone’s dream”). In general, the recent work done to houses in the neighborhood appeared to make the neighborhood more like its cousins outside New Circle Road in spite of the restrictive design criteria.

Any single person or family moving to a neighborhood changes it, perhaps almost imperceptibly. The sum of those changes can reflect a greater shift, and I wonder if that is happening in Chevy Chase (though of course, it’s much harder to tell with my very limited exposure to the area).

What works: The parklet at the end of Chenault

What doesn’t: Existing design criteria may not be sufficient to preserve the neighborhood’s (built) character.

Through the Interstices

Tag Archives: Chevy Chase

Day 62-Walking Distance

Day 33