BETHESDA CONSTRUCTION UPDATE: THE DARCY AND THE FLATS AT LOT 31 (PHOTOS)

Things are really taking shape at the Lot 31 construction site of The Darcy condos and The Flats luxury apartments at Bethesda and Woodmont Avenues.

PAUL BAKERY FILES FOR CONSTRUCTION PERMIT AT BETHESDA'S LOT 31 PROJECT

Paul Bakery and Pâtisserie, an upscale French bakery, has requested a construction permit for its future 2000 SF Bethesda Avenue location. The bakery will be located alongside the Capital Crescent Trail, in the ground floor of The Flats luxury apartments. That building is still under construction itself.

NEW BANNER TOUTS THE DARCY, LOT 31 RETAIL/RESTAURANT TENANTS IN BETHESDA (PHOTOS)

Construction continues at a rapid pace across from Bethesda Row, at the future site of The Darcy condos and The Flats apartments. A new banner touts the luxury condominiums of The Darcy, and retail/restaurant tenants that will be coming along with the development on the former Lot 31/31A parking lots. The Flats building is not promoted, but most of the ground-level retail and dining tenants listed on the banner are actually in The Flats (with Passion Fish being the exception).

BETHESDA CONSTRUCTION UPDATE: THE DARCY/THE FLATS (PHOTOS)

More windows are installed at the Lot 31 construction site of The Darcy condos and The Flats apartments by Bethesda Row. There is also quite a bit of brick facade in place now on the side of The Flats, on the side of the building that faces the Capital Crescent Trail and Ourisman Honda.

I AM SHOCKED, SHOCKED WOODMONT AVE. WON'T REOPEN UNTIL 2015 (PHOTOS)

I think the biggest question about the briefly-promised reopening of Woodmont Avenue south of Bethesda Avenue is, why was it proposed to begin with? By my recollection, it was not originally planned to reopen at this stage of the Lot 31 development, anyway. The garage isn't ready, and neither building is near completion. Would it have been great to get it open? Sure.

But I was rightly skeptical when a mid-August reopening was first floated. How could a road be brought up to code with ADA and Bethesda Streetscape requirements from scratch in a couple of weeks? Then we found out how - with no such requirements or pedestrian access. Simply a two-lane cut-through for cars only. This did not seem to mesh with all of the trendy talk about walkable communities, pedestrian safety, "people over cars," bike lanes, and "complete streets" we hear so often in Montgomery County.

Then there were the confusing signs. No Pedestrian Access. Which worked so well on Fairmont Avenue, and still does along the former post office site on Arlington Road, right? Ask any driver who rounds the curve on Arlington, to find a couple of pedestrians' backs facing them in the roadway, how well it worked. Extremely unsafe, and the proposed Woodmont Driveway (to use a more accurate term) would have been dangerous as well, knowing that people were going to save a couple of minutes by plunging into oncoming traffic. One commenter on this blog made a good point about the very winding, bending nature of the road, too. Somehow, I doubt that's what the final road will be like - for safety purposes, if nothing else.

And no one ever explained the full implications (legal or otherwise) of the sign announcing that segment of Woodmont was not a publicly-maintained street. I had always assumed Woodmont would reopen as a finished street, maintained by the County.

Keeping Woodmont closed is hardly convenient for the general public. But inquiring minds want to know a couple of answers. What was the sudden rush to reopen, when nobody was expecting it anyway? And what specifically came to light regarding safety, that wasn't known when the original mid-August reopening date was given? It sounded unsafe from the beginning. And it didn't seem to make sense to have the developer and construction contractors spend the time and money on this, and then call it off.

WOODMONT WATCH: RESTART T-MINUS 24 HOURS IN BETHESDA (PHOTOS)

Here's how Woodmont Avenue looks south of Bethesda Avenue, just one day before it is scheduled to reopen (although the official language has been "on or about August 22." New signage again confirms that pedestrians will not be accommodated on the temporary 2-lane road. There are no bike lanes. There is also a sign stating that Woodmont Avenue is not a government-maintained road. Does anyone know what the implications of that are? Does it relate to liability issues if someone's car is damaged while driving on the road, or has an accident?

WOODMONT AVENUE REOPENING PUSHED BACK A WEEK IN BETHESDA

Woodmont Avenue south of Bethesda Avenue will now reopen a week later than expected, Montgomery County Department of Transportation Community Relations Manager Tom Pogue said in MyMCMedia report Friday. Pogue said August 22 is the new target date, but gave the standard "on or about" qualification. The street will be only 2 lanes. Lane striping was added Friday, but no bike lanes are yet designated. 

Pogue also confirmed that this segment of Woodmont will remain closed to pedestrians, despite a county law requiring sidewalks to remain open along construction sites.

WOODMONT WATCH: T-MINUS 24 HOURS (PHOTOS)

We are now 24 hours from the promised reopening date of Woodmont Avenue east of Bethesda Avenue (although the electronic signs around town have been saying "on or about August 15" in recent days). It's pretty clear that when it reopens, it will not be a fully finished road with sidewalks. Whether it will have bike lanes, or a pedestrian passage of some kind are still unknown.

One other interesting addition to The Flats at the Lot 31 construction site is the start of the rooftop structure.

Here's how Woodmont Avenue looks now:

WOODMONT WATCH: T-MINUS 5 DAYS - WOODMONT AVE. CLOSED SECTION IS PAVED IN BETHESDA (PHOTOS)

The reconstruction of Woodmont Avenue south of Bethesda Avenue took a major step forward Saturday, as the closed roadway bed received at least one level of pavement. I'm wondering if the reason the reopening is scheduled for August 15 (although newer electronic sign messages are slightly less confident, giving a qualifying "on or about"), is that there will be no sidewalks? It's the sidewalks and streetscaping that are among the features that would add significant time to the project. I have not heard what the plans are in that regard. Will the street be accessible to pedestrians when it opens, or just cars? Will there be bike lanes?