North Bethesda station is a rapid transit station on the Red Line of the Washington Metro in North Bethesda, Maryland. The North Bethesda station was opened on December 15, 1984, as White Flint and is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). Providing service for the Red Line, the station serves residential and commercial areas of North Bethesda and Rockville and is located near the former White Flint Mall and the new Pike & Rose mixed-use development.
North Bethesda  | |||||||||||
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 North Bethesda station platform in July 2022 | |||||||||||
| General information | |||||||||||
| Location | North Bethesda, Maryland, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 39°02′53″N 77°06′47″W / 39.048043°N 77.113131°W | ||||||||||
| Owned by | Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority | ||||||||||
| Platforms | 1 island platform | ||||||||||
| Tracks | 2 | ||||||||||
| Connections | |||||||||||
| Construction | |||||||||||
| Structure type | Below-grade | ||||||||||
| Parking | 982 spaces | ||||||||||
| Bicycle facilities | Capital Bikeshare, 32 racks and 20 lockers | ||||||||||
| Accessible | Yes | ||||||||||
| Other information | |||||||||||
| Station code | A12 | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
| Opened | December 15, 1984 | ||||||||||
| Previous names | White Flint (1984–2022) | ||||||||||
| Passengers | |||||||||||
| 2023 | 1,442 daily[1] | ||||||||||
| Rank | 69 out of 98 | ||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||
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Location
editNorth Bethesda station serves commercial and residential areas of North Bethesda and Rockville. The station entrance is located immediately adjacent to the headquarters of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The large Pike & Rose mixed-use development sits one block north of the station. The former site of its original "White Flint" namesake, White Flint Mall, is located about 4⁄10-mile (0.64 km) southeast of the station and was shuttered in 2015.
Transit-oriented development
editNorth Bethesda station is at the center of the Pike District (formerly White Flint) planning area which was the subject of two sector plans (in 2010 and 2018) that were intended to generate dense, transit-oriented development. The sector plans prescribed new zoning to allow taller buildings to be built closer to the Metro station along with a new street grid to link disjointed areas.[2]
History
editThe station opened on December 15, 1984[3] as part of a 7-mile (11 km), four-station northwestern extension of the Red Line[4] between Grosvenor–Strathmore and Shady Grove stations.[3] White Flint was originally known as Nicholson Lane in planning documents,[5] but the station was renamed after the White Flint Mall before it opened. A pylon at Farragut North still bears the original name of the station; extensions were originally printed on pylons throughout the system and covered up until they opened.[6]
On December 9, 2021, the Metro board voted to change the name of the station from White Flint to North Bethesda. The new name was added to Metro system maps when the second phase of the Silver Line opened on November 15, 2022.[7] In June 2022, signage in the station began to be modified to reflect the name change.[8] The new name change became official on September 11, 2022.[9]
Station layout
editNorth Bethesda station has an island platform located just below street level in an open cut, which leads to a tunnel on either side of the station. Access to the station is provided at ground level at the northeast corner of Rockville Pike and Marinelli Road, with a Metro-style underpass providing access to the northwest corner of the intersection. A parking garage is located east of the station on Marinelli Road.
Notable places nearby
edit- Pike & Rose
- Nuclear Regulatory Commission
- Kennedy Shriver Aquatic Center
- Westfield Montgomery Mall is accessible via Ride On 26 or 42 bus.
References
edit- ^ "Metrorail Ridership Summary". Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
- ^ White Flint sector plan Montgomery Planning Retrieved November 28, 2009
- ^ a b Zibart, Eve (December 16, 1984), "A rainbow coalition flocks to Red Line; four stops open amid hoopla", The Washington Post, p. A1
- ^ Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (July 2009). "Sequence of Metrorail openings" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 9, 2013. Retrieved July 30, 2010.
- ^ Johnson, Janis (September 28, 1978). "Metro in Montgomery: Plans Are Unveiled for Preserving Old Neighborhoods and Creating New Development Near Metro". The Washington Post. p. MD1. ProQuest 146865517.
- ^ Zoological Park metro station? Archived December 31, 2009, at the Wayback Machine DCist Retrieved November 28, 2009
- ^ Jordan Pascale (December 9, 2021). "Metro Board Changes White Flint Station Name To North Bethesda". DCist. Archived from the original on December 9, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
- ^ Staff, M. C. S. (June 22, 2022). "Signage Being Changed From 'White Flint' to 'North Bethesda' at What's Now the North Bethesda Metro Station". The MoCo Show. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
- ^ "Metro to implement five station name changes Sept. 11 | WMATA". www.wmata.com. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
External links
edit
- The Schumin Web Transit Center: White Flint Station
- Marinelli Road entrance from Google Maps Street View