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Purple Line NOW!
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Purple Line NOW! is asking all candidates for elective office at the County Council level and above in Montgomery and Prince George's Counties to sign a Pledge to support the Purple Line. Many candidates have stepped forward and signed the pledge.

On July 27, 2010 the Montgomery County Council approved the Purple Line Functional Master Plan by a unanimous vote with only minor revisions. Among the revisions listed in the Council Press Release is naming the Purple Line station at 16th Street the "Sanders/Woodside Station" in honor of Purple Line NOW! co-founder Harry Sanders, as the "Father of the Purple Line".

This new Master Plan supports the Purple Line Locally Preferred Alternative as double track light rail from Bethesda to New Carrollton as selected by the governor last August, and replaces the 20 year old Master Plan that only called for the Georgetown Branch Trolley from Bethesda to Silver Spring.

The Council had already endorsed the Purple Line in January 2009 during the MTA Purple Line public hearing and alternatives selection process. This new Master Plan makes County planning documents consistent with the Purple Line, a necessary step to support the application for federal funding. Prince George's County had already approved a new Transportation Master PLan that included its portion of the Purple Line on November 17, 2009.

A "trial" to stop transit service on Campus Drive could set the stage for the University to obstruct the proposed Purple Line alignment. The University needs more transit, not less. Purple Line NOW! has joined a diverse coalition of student leaders, local elected officials and advocacy groups to urge the University Administration to support the Purple Line alignment on Campus Drive.

A rendering of the Purple Line at the University of Maryland,
from an MTA presentation given at a UMD Forum on May 24.

The UMd Administration continues to oppose the Purple Line in the central campus. Matthew Popkin, Director of Sustainablility for the SGA and Purple Line NOW! Board Member, has written in a Guest Column - The Road to Green in the Diamondback:

"...the core issue at stake is the sustainability of the university. Public transit, when properly planned, is more sustainable than private vehicles. Having it as a viable and convenient option encourages ridership both in the present and the future. Our current energy usage is unsustainable, and public transportation can provide both an economically and environmentally sound alternative while also reducing private vehicular emissions and traffic. By restricting the access of public transportation to Campus Drive, there becomes less of an incentive for students, staff and faculty to utilize the public transit opportunities available..."

Thanks for all of your support over the years! We hope you'll stay involved as this critical project moves forward.