Purple Line NOW News - January 8, 2020
In today's edition of Purple Line NOW News, here's what you'll find:
- All Donations Will Be Doubled!
- Our Annual Top Ten Purple Line Stories Review!
ALL Donations Will Be DOUBLED!
We hope you saw our previous email announcing that a generous donor has come forward with a matching grant challenge and has offered a way to help us raise the funds necessary to get us over the finish line!! This matching grant will double any donation you make to Purple Line NOW (up to $5,000). Our donor has agreed to continue the matching grant into the new year - so, if you haven't yet had a chance to donate, we hope you will consider doing so.
See a list of our generous donors at the link!
We are grateful to everyone who has taken a moment to remember Purple Line NOW in your holiday giving these past few weeks. (Please note: all donations that came in since November WILL count toward the matching grant challenge!)
As we mentioned in our previous newsletter ---- our mission is clear, but we must find more funding to bridge us up to ribbon-cutting day. Our benefactor wants to stress that donors are welcome to honor anyone who may have inspired them to activism, tributes to early volunteers, civil servants, and/or boosters who may have had to step back. They are all in our thoughts as we make this appeal to you.
And, there’s even more to this outreach of generosity!
This is not a one-time matching grant ---- our anonymous donor will match three-year pledges, as well as one-time donations. With your help, this will provide the financial support Purple Line NOW needs for advocacy work until the first ride when our group will disband, having achieved its goal!
Purple Line NOW needs, on average, about $20,000 a year to accomplish its work, producing a bi-weekly newsletter, hosting free educational events, team meetings, and helping the community get answers to its construction-related questions. We rarely hold special events to raise money as we have always been funded by the generosity of donors who step up when the need arises.
We have three years to go and hope you’ll join us on the final leg of our journey! All Aboard!
Share This Newsletter
Please feel free to share this newsletter - no permission from us needed! You can always find a link to our newsletter on our Purple Line NOW website which makes it easy to share with your friends, neighbors, constituents, customers, and employees.
CONSTRUCTION NEWS TO KNOW |
A Look Back at 2019
Happy New Year! This new decade brings us another year closer to riding the Purple Line! As has become tradition here at Purple Line NOW News, we want to take a moment to look back at the previous year to see what the top Purple Line stories were and the progress the project has made.
10. The topping out of the Glenridge Operations and Maintenance Facility (OMF)
Back in July, the Purple Line reached another milestone with the topping out of the OMF building with the ceremonial signing of the final beam before it was placed into position atop the facility. You may remember, we highlighted the building in the July 17 edition of Purple Line NOW News. While the building is not a perfect rectangle, its longest section is 358 feet and its widest, 277 feet. For (American) football fans, that’s roughly the same as two football fields laid side to side!
Photo courtesy of MDOT MTA and PLTP
9. Announcement of Two-Phase 2022 Opening
In September, Maryland Transit officials announced that the Purple Line would open in two phases, the first in Prince George’s county in 2022, and the full line opening in early 2023. While location of the first segment has not been announced, it will likely include the section of the line that will contain the two-mile test track being built along Veterans Parkway.
8. Montgomery County Steps Up for Trees Along the Right-Of-Way
The Purple Line construction involves some loss of trees along the right-of-way. In addition to the environmental benefits of taking an estimated 17,000 cars off the road, the consortium will be planting new trees in the watershed for all those lost, including dozens of flowering and overstory trees along Wayne Avenue. Much of the land along the right-of-way is private property, and the consortium does not have authority to plant trees there, but fortunately Tree Montgomery and other programs are stepping up with funding to make sure neighbors who want new trees have the resources they need. Check out the December 5 edition Purple Line NOW News for a list of resources.
7. Art in Transit
Mid-year, the artwork for the Purple Line was announced for many of the stations. MDOT MTA Purple Line says that the mission of the Art-in-Transit program is, “to make public art an integral element of the transit project and to further enhance the Purple Line's high-quality stations, aesthetic treatments and landscape designs.” The designs debuted certainly meet that mission. If you haven’t had a chance to look at these, they can be found here.
6. Housing Action Plan Released
At the end of the year, the Purple Line Corridor Coalition released their housing action plan, which will help preserve affordability along the Purple Line route in both Prince George’s and Montgomery counties. According totheir press release, the Housing Action Plan outlines a “pathway toward preserving housing affordability along the planned Purple Line route, which currently contains at least 17,000 homes affordable to families earning less than $70,000 per year. The Plan contains 12 specific recommendations to work in concert with existing policies and programs and is designed to help ensure that existing and future individuals and families of all income levels benefit from the 16-mile Purple Line light rail upon its completion in 2023.”
5. A Bridge Opens, A Bridge Closes
In January, the new Lyttonsville Place Bridge was opened to traffic. The old bridge, which was constructed in 1966, had exceeded its useful life, so the need for a new bridge because of the project was fortuitous. In recent years, access was restricted to heavier vehicles due to its deteriorating condition. If the bridge was not being replaced as part of construction on the Purple Line, the county would have needed to spend several million dollars to replace the deck.
Photo Courtesy of MDOT MTA and PLTP
As you know, a year and a half ago, the historic Talbot Avenue Bridge was deconstructed to make way for a stronger and wider bridge with sidewalks. The Purple Line will pass under the new bridge, next to the CSX tracks. The new bridge, as well as the Lyttonsville station itself, will incorporate elements from the historic bridge.
4. Mike Madden Retires
In October, after 48 years of public service, 36 of which has been with MTA, Purple Line Deputy Project Director for the Maryland Transit Administration, Mike Madden retired. Purple Line NOW Vice President Greg Sanders praised Madden's tenacity, "He represented the project at thousands of meetings with the public, in good times and bad, bore the attacks of opponents and heard the concerns of those who would face disruption. All of that is hard work and often resists easy solutions. We are grateful for his years of labor as a public servant."
Mike Madden with Barbara Sanders and Greg Sanders
Mike leaves the project in good and steady hands with his successor, Gary Witherspoon, Purple Line Assistant Director of Public Outreach and Communications who has been the state transportation spokesman at MDOT MTA and a valuable part of the Community Advisory Team (CAT) meetings and our own Purple Line NOW forums.
3. First Look at Purple Line Light Rail Vehicle (LRV)
There were a lot of firsts in 2019, and getting a peek at one of the new LRV's inside the factory is an exciting way to remind us that we will be riding one of these cars in just a few short years! We think they’re beautiful and they are also huge! Each train will be 136-feet-long per five segment railcar – the longest transit LRV in America. Whoa!
Photo Courtesy of MDOT MTA and PLTP
2. Break-through of Tunnel Excavation
In February, the project hit another milestone when crews broke through a 1,000-foot tunnel between Arliss Street and Wayne Street to the future Silver Spring station. The excavation took 8 ½ months and was ahead of schedule. It is always an exciting day when these breakthroughs occur and this was no exception!
Watch the video of the breakthrough here: WTOP.
And, finally, drumroll please!
1. First Purple Line Tracks Are Placed
After much deliberation, our group deemed the laying of the first tracks in September as the most significant visual representation of the project to date. The tracks represent so much in terms of the hard work the crews, the community, and our volunteers have given month in and month out, some for decades, and some no longer with us, to see this project become a reality. It is the first visual sign that says, “The train is coming! All aboard!”
Photo Courtesy of MDOT MTA and PLTP
We hope you've enjoyed this recap of a busy year for the Purple Line. There were many more stories to write about (and we have! You can find all of our newsletters on our website at the link.) From smaller projects, the ever-present utility reconstruction, to demo, retaining walls, and landscaping plans - all progress matters. Here's to more in 2020!
PURPLE LINE NOW NEWS AND EVENTS |
- Next Purple Line NOW forum will happen in late winter/early spring. The title will be: Getting Ready for the First Purple Line Ride! We have lots of beans to spill about what will surely be an educational and interesting evening for both Montgomery and Prince George's counties. Stay tuned for location, date, and how to reserve your seat. All the details coming soon!
PURPLE LINE NOW ACTION |
Can You Help Purple Line NOW Continue Its Work?
If you haven't already given this year, would you consider a donation to Purple Line NOW? Right now, we will double your donation (thanks to a generous donor who has offered a matching grant for every single donation, up to $5,000!) See above for details on how to donate. Thank you!
Get Connected!
Make sure you are signed up for timely alerts from Purple Line NOW via our Twitter and Facebook pages, and at our website Purple Line NOW.
Purple Line NOW News - December 18, 2019
In this, our last Purple Line NOW News edition for 2019, we want to take a moment to wish each of you a safe and happy holiday season! Purple Line NOW News will resume its production schedule after the New Year.
In today's edition of Purple Line NOW News, here's what you'll find:
- The First Purple Line Train Ride
- Welcome to Gary Witherspoon
- Welcome to Greg Slater
The First Purple Line Train Ride
We hope you saw our email last week announcing that ---- a donor has come forward with a matching grant challenge and has offered a way to help us raise the funds necessary to get us over the finish line!! This matching grant will double any donation you make to Purple Line NOW (up to $5,000).
This matching challenge is being done as a tribute to those who worked so hard in those early years to make this project a reality, some of whom are no longer with us and sadly won’t be able to take the first ride they dreamed of with us. We have already received some very poignant donations in honor of extraordinary folks who have worked hard to make our Purple Line dreams come true. We'll be highlighting those tributes in an upcoming newsletter.
To get the ball rolling, we started with three folks whose names are synonymous with the Purple Line, namely Harry Sanders, Barbara Steckel, and Keith Haller. You can read all about these amazing folks and details about the challenge grant in our recent blast.
We are grateful to everyone who has taken a moment to remember Purple Line NOW in your holiday giving these past few weeks. (Please note: all donations that came in since November WILL count toward the matching grant challenge!)
As we mentioned in our previous newsletter, we are at a difficult crossroads ---- our mission is clear, but we must find more funding to bridge us up to ribbon-cutting day. Our benefactor wants to stress that donors are welcome to honor anyone who may have inspired them to activism, tributes to early volunteers, civil servants, and/or boosters who may have had to step back. They are all in our thoughts as we make this appeal to you.
And, there’s even more to this outreach of generosity!
This is not a one-time matching grant ---- our anonymous donor will match three-year pledges, as well as one-time donations. With your help, this will provide the financial support Purple Line NOW needs for advocacy work until the first ride when our group will disband, having achieved its goal!
If you let us know who you are thinking of as you donate, we’ll make sure to list them and a little bit about their service on our website.
With Harry, Barbara, and Keith in mind, and countless others, we ask you to make a donation to Purple Line NOW and, if possible, consider extending that donation over three years. So, for example, you might make a $300 total pledge at $100 per year for the next three years. Our matching donor will double that each year! We appreciate all levels of donations. Every dollar helps us get to opening day.
Purple Line NOW needs, on average, about $20,000 a year to accomplish its work, producing a bi-weekly newsletter, hosting free educational events, team meetings, and helping the community get answers to its construction-related questions. We rarely hold special events to raise money as we have always been funded by the generosity of donors who step up when the need arises.
We have three years to go and hope you’ll join us on the final leg of our journey! All Aboard!
DONATE
Share This Newsletter
Please feel free to share this newsletter - no permission from us needed! You can always find a link to our newsletter on our Purple Line NOW website which makes it easy to share with your friends, neighbors, constituents, customers, and employees.
CONSTRUCTION NEWS TO KNOW |
Welcome Greg Slater
Earlier this month, Governor Hogan appointed Greg Slater as Secretary of Transportation for Maryland, pending Senate confirmation. Once confirmed, Mr. Slater will assume his role on January 10, 2020. He succeeds Pete Rahn who has held that post since 2015.
A native of Maryland (and a graduate of Towson University), Mr. Slater has been serving as Administrator of the State Highway Administration since 2017. He has spent 20 years working within Maryland's Department of Transportation with a focus on planning and engineering. We look forward to working with Mr. Slater as the project moves toward its first ride.
Welcome to Gary Witherspoon
Gary Witherspoon is the Purple Line's new Deputy Project Director, overseeing outreach on the project for the Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Transit Administration (MDOT MTA). He joined the Purple Line in July 2018, as Assistant Director of Communications & Outreach, after serving more than two years as Senior Writer & Public Affairs Manager in the office of MDOT Secretary Pete Rahn. He is a Baltimore native and graduate of Dartmouth College, with a certificate in Multicultural Management from the University of Missouri School of Journalism. A trained facilitator, he is a former award-winning journalist who during a 30-year career either wrote or edited for Newsday (Long Island, NY), The Boston Globe, The Baltimore Sun, The Boston Herald, The New Bedford Standard-Times (Massachusetts), and the Southbridge (Massachusetts) News.
Gary has been a familiar face at many (if not all) of Purple Line NOW's forums. We welcome him and look forward to working with him and his team in the coming years.
PURPLE LINE NOW NEWS AND EVENTS |
- Next Purple Line NOW Forum: Stay tuned for an announcement of the next Purple Line NOW forum happening late winter 2020!
PURPLE LINE NOW ACTION |
Can You Help Purple Line NOW Continue Its Work?
If you haven't already given this year, would you consider a donation to Purple Line NOW? Right now, we will double your donation (thanks to a generous donor who has offered a matching grant for every single donation, up to $5,000!) See above for details on how to donate. Thank you!
Get Connected!
Make sure you are signed up for timely alerts from Purple Line NOW via our Twitter and Facebook pages, and at our website Purple Line NOW.
The First Purple Line Ride
With the first Purple Line train due to leave the station in late 2022, we have some extraordinary news ---- a donor has come forward with a matching grant challenge and has offered a way to help us raise the funds necessary to get us over the finish line!!
This matching challenge is being done as a tribute to those who worked so hard in those early years to make this project a reality, some of whom are no longer with us and sadly won’t be able to take the first ride they dreamed of with us. Read on to see three whose hard work, perseverance, and elbow grease built the support and outreach to steer the way for the project becoming a reality.
Our donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, will match your donations up to $5,000!! Details of how this all works are at the end of the email, so please keep reading.
We are grateful to everyone who has taken a moment to remember Purple Line NOW in your holiday giving these past few weeks. (Please note: any donations that came in over the past month WILL count toward the matching grant challenge!)
As we mentioned in our previous newsletter, we are at a difficult crossroads ---- our mission is clear, but we must find more funding to bridge us up to ribbon-cutting day.
Our benefactor wants to stress that donors are welcome to honor anyone who may have inspired them to activism, tributes to early volunteers, civil servants, and/or boosters who may have had to step back. They are all in our thoughts as we make this appeal to you.
And, there’s even more to this outreach of generosity!
This is not a one-time matching grant ---- our anonymous donor will match three-year pledges, as well as one-time donations. With your help, this will provide the financial support Purple Line NOW needs for advocacy work until the first ride when our group will disband, having achieved its goal!
If you let us know who you are thinking of as you donate, we’ll make sure to list them and a little bit about their service on our website. See the three below whose names are synonymous with the Purple Line, but we know there are so many more that deserve recognition and we hope you'll help us highlight them, too!
Harry Sanders conceived of the idea for a connecting spoke to WMATA’s metro that would serve the Maryland bi-county sector, providing much needed access to transit for residents and workers alike. Harry’s son, Greg Sanders, who is Purple Line NOW’s Vice President, grew up with parents who dedicated their volunteer hours to making the project a reality. In the photo above, Harry and his wife Barbara are at the New Carrollton Metro just after hearing that the Purple Line was named the local preferred option in 2009. Zoom in to see the signs they are holding in their arms! Harry’s approach to advocacy was to nudge, cajole, and educate in a gentle and helpful way. That philosophy lives with all of our Purple Line NOW volunteers to this day.
Barbara Steckel was President of the League of Women Voters of Montgomery County and actively lobbied the General Assembly on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Maryland on a variety of issues. She was an avid supporter of the Purple Line and tried to convince the County Council not to rebuild the old railroad bridge over Rock Creek Park or to improve the railroad grade that the county had purchased for what was then to be called the Georgetown Branch Trolley. She was worried that users of the improved trail would become so enamored with it that they would be angry when light rail construction began and would fight the project.
Keith Haller, a longtime advocate of the line and former Purple Line NOW Board Member, provided critical analysis, access to elected officials who could help, and a walking encyclopedia of how the process would work and how we could best position ourselves to help educate and encourage the community to come around to the idea of this light rail project. Keith’s big ideas, as he used to call them in our meetings, helped us see the bigger picture and reach “onward and upward” ---- a favorite phrase of Mr. Haller’s that we heard often.
With those three in mind, and countless others, we ask you to make a donation to Purple Line NOW and if possible, consider extending that donation over three years. So, for example, you might make a $300 total pledge at $100 per year for the next three years. And, our matching donor will double that each year! We appreciate all levels of donations. Every dollar helps us get to opening day.
For those of you unfamiliar with matching challenges, here are the details:
Our donor has offered to match EVERY donation, dollar for dollar, up to $5,000 per year for three years. This is a way for you to DOUBLE your donation! See, we told you it was big news!
And, the donor has generously agreed to match any donations that came in from individuals in the past few weeks, as well. We are grateful.
Purple Line NOW needs, on average, about $20,000 a year to accomplish its work, producing a bi-weekly newsletter, hosting free educational events, team meetings, and helping the community get answers to its construction-related questions. We rarely hold special events to raise money as we have always been funded by the generosity of donors who step up when the need arises.
We have three years to go and hope you’ll join us on the final leg of our journey! All Aboard!
DONATE
Purple Line NOW News - December 5, 2019
In today's edition of Purple Line NOW News, here's what you'll find:
- Stay Tuned for Exciting Purple Line NOW News!
- An Update on Tree Replacement Resources
- A Recap of Greater Lyttonsville Place/Woodside Community Advisory Team Meetings
Dear Friends,
We hope you had a relaxing Thanksgiving holiday and are staying warm and toasty as autumn turns to winter!
We are so grateful to everyone who has sent in a donation or clicked on the DONATE button below in the past few weeks! You will see an email in your inbox in the next few days entitled "The First Purple Line Ride" announcing an exciting way to help Purple Line NOW continue its work. We have received a generous matching donation challenge from one of our supporters and we will spill all the details early next week. In the meantime, we are grateful to all who are helping us through these next 3.5 years. Opening day will be here before we know it!
In case you missed our appeal a few weeks ago, please take a moment to have a look:
Purple Line NOW is approaching a turning point in the services we will be able to offer as we go forward in 2020. With visible construction all around our communities, it is easy for the community to believe our work is done, and by and large, it is thrilling to see our advocacy efforts (and yours!) over the years come into focus in such an exciting way.
For us, though, a nearly all-volunteer organization, with one quarter-time employee, fundraising has been difficult and dwindling over the past year, despite enthusiastic attendance at our very popular forums, a widely read bi-weekly newsletter, and increasing calls and emails from the community for problem-solving help due to construction woes. We simply cannot continue our work without the funding necessary to provide these services.
As we head into the holidays, we ask you to consider a donation to Purple Line NOW. We are working on a winter forum right now, and as you can see in the newsletter below, we continue to push out as much information as we can. Please click the black "DONATE" button below to help us continue our work and forward to any friends or colleagues who will benefit from the Purple Line once opened. As always, we proudly list all of our donors on our website and in all event literature. Thank you.
Share This Newsletter
Please feel free to share this newsletter - no permission from us needed! You can always find a link to our newsletter on our Purple Line NOW website which makes it easy to share with your friends, neighbors, constituents, customers, and employees.
CONSTRUCTION NEWS TO KNOW |
Resources for Replacing Trees
We often hear concerns about the number of trees removed along the route to construct the Purple Line. It is sad to see those tree go, even if their removal will bring about a transit line that will help reduce the number of cars (and their emissions) on our roads in just a few short years. Trees are important for environmental, aesthetic, and shade reasons and that's why we think it's so important to share resources available to private property holders in Montgomery County (where much of the tree loss has occurred) to plant new trees with support from the county.
In the September 25, 2018 edition of Purple Line NOW News, we reported on some of the reasons for loss of trees, especially along Wayne Avenue, in many cases, to accommodate increased volts and to prevent arcing. The builder emphasized in the previous Montgomery County Transportation and Engineering Committee briefing that they are not removing any trees unless “absolutely necessary,” but to maintain the same amount of lanes, they had to widen the road which meant more tree loss. The concessionaire is operating within the guidelines of the Maryland Forest Conservation Act and is replacing 80 acres of tree banks. Thirty overstory trees, along with 25 flowering trees, will be replanted adjacent to Wayne Avenue.
As we also reported, Tim Cupples from Montgomery County MDOT mentioned that he has been connecting folks to Tree Montgomery which will work with residents to replace additional trees. They are also working with the county arborist for advice on where replanting will occur, as well as tree maintenance after planting. Tree Montgomery is the primary county program for putting trees into homeowners yards and is in the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection.
We have since learned of two other programs available to residents for acquiring trees for their yards from the Planning Department: Shades of Green and Leaves for Neighborhoods. The county's program for street trees (from the curb in to about 10') is out of MCDOT and is run by Brett Linkletter.
(Thank you to Don Slater for informing us of some of these resources.)
Greater Lyttonsville/Woodside Community Advisory Team Meeting
On November 12, 2019, residents and CAT members gathered to hear an update on their segment of the Purple Line. Presenters for this CAT meeting were:
Gary Witherspoon
MDOT MTA Public Outreach & Communications, Deputy Project Director
Carla Julian
PLTC Sr. Manager, Public Affairs/Community Outreach
Mark Edsall
PLTC Area 1 Lead Structural Engineer
You can view the entire presentation on their website, but some of the highlights are below. Stations in this segment include Lyttonsville and 16th Street/Woodside.
The team gave a quick overview of the entire project and then focused on the work that has been completed over the past year or so on this segment of the line. As you know, a year and a half ago, the Talbot Avenue Bridge was deconstructed to make way for a stronger and wider bridge with sidewalks. The Purple Line will pass under the new bridge, next to the CSX tracks. The new bridge, as well as the Lyttonsville station itself, will incorporate elements from the historic bridge.
In Rock Creek Park, the demolition of the remaining bridge over Rock Creek was completed, while construction of retaining walls continues.
At Lyttonsville Place, Phase One of the Montgomery County DOT parking lot has begun and on Stewart Avenue, utility relocation continues, along with the installation of the storm drainage system. For those who have children who attend Rosemary Hills Elementary School, you may have noticed that last summer, crews began pile driving for the Talbot Avenue Bridge. The former bridge has been completely removed.
Photo Courtesy of PLTP and MTA MDOT
On 16th Street (from the CSX corridor to Spring Street), tree removal continues, and the grading along the CSX tracks has started.
Looking ahead six months, you can expect the mass excavation to continue in Rock Creek Park. Crews will also begin the installation of a temporary bridge across Rock Creek so that construction crews can have access to the west slope. At Lyttonsville Place, the water and sewer relocation will be completed, while the installation of retaining walls will continue. The Noland Plumbing building will be demolished and the foundations for the Lyttonsville OMF administration building will begin, along with the erection of a new WSSC radio tower.
At Rosemary Hills Elementary, crews will complete the pile driving for the new Talbot Avenue Bridge while students are on holiday break.
Along 16th Street, tree clearing will continue and slab at the Spring Street Shopping Center will be demolished. Please note that Spring Street will close between 16th Street and 2nd Avenue to traffic in late spring of 2020 while the demolition of the existing bridge occurs. The closure duration will be limited to 7 months. See the Spring Street Detour below.
Photo Courtesy of PLTP and MTA MDOT
As always, you can see the complete presentations at the MTA/MDOT website: Community Advisory Teams. The team encouraged everyone with concerns to call the Purple Line Hot-line at 240-424-5325. They will get an answering machine instead of a real person because they want a record of concerns. A text of the message left by the caller will be forwarded to the outreach team and they will respond as soon as they can.
PURPLE LINE NOW NEWS AND EVENTS |
- Next Purple Line NOW Forum: Stay tuned for an announcement of the next Purple Line NOW forum happening late winter 2020!
PURPLE LINE NOW ACTION |
Can You Help Purple Line NOW Continue Its Work?
If you haven't already given this year, would you consider a donation to Purple Line NOW? We have reprinted the appeal here as it contains all the bits you might want to know about what we do with your donations - those dollars work hard!
As we reported earlier this year, we here at Purple Line NOW have shifted our energy from our prior focus of advocating for funding and approval of the project to the daunting task of keeping communities along the Purple Line corridor up-to-speed regarding breaking news, construction woes, and exciting new developments being built around the new line.
Purple Line NOW operates on a very small budget and, as you know, we don’t hold special event fundraisers. Instead, we rely on an email outreach to our most dedicated supporters to help us meet our bottom line each year during our fall appeal campaign.
To that end, we ask for your financial support so that we may continue our work. Donating is easy via our secure link or by sending a check through the mail – all the information to do so can be found on our website.
Below, you will read what it is we do each year with your generous donations. As always, we are happy to answer any additional questions you may have. Just shoot us an email or give us a ring.
A reminder: Purple Line NOW does not receive underwriting grants from any source, government (local or otherwise), nor are we a membership organization (we do not ask for annual dues). We operate solely on donations from individuals and businesses like you who care about the Purple Line and whose generosity allow us to continue our work each year.
How Will Purple Line NOW Use My Donation?
As we said, Purple Line NOW exists on a very slender budget. Our work is done by a dedicated and hardworking group of volunteers, as well as one quarter-time employee. We pay for our website maintenance and for the resources needed to reach the community through email blasts, literature, and supplies. We also cover any expenses associated with hosting our popular educational forums – as you know, these events are always free and open to the public (we don’t charge you to attend!)
Purple Line NOW News
With your support, Purple Line NOW has published a bi-weekly, information-packed newsletter with the latest in construction news, photos, and insider information to keep you on top of what is going on in the field. We have a large following and we are often surprised that readers come from all over the country, from Baltimore to California! Thanks to the many volunteer contributors who help us write and release the newsletter every other week. It’s a big undertaking and we appreciate your support in making it happen! Did you know you can view all of our previous newsletters on our website?!
Envisioning the Purple Line Series
We continue the very popular Envisioning the Purple Line series of forums hosted in a variety of communities along the corridor in both Prince George’s and Montgomery counties. Just last month, we held an update in Chevy Chase, focused on Completing the Capital Crescent Trail where we brought in the CEO of the Purple Line Transit Partners (the builders), Montgomery County councilmembers, bicycle and trail advocates, and others to offer lots of information to the 70+ folks who attended. We try to do at least two events each year around the Purple Line Corridor. Previous events have been held in Silver Spring, Bethesda, Riverdale Park, University of Maryland, College Park, and more. We are currently working hard on organizing the next forum, so stay tuned!
Connecting People
Behind the scenes, Purple Line NOW serves as an unofficial clearing house of sorts for calls from residents and businesses who are looking for answers to issues they are experiencing while the project is under construction. We don’t always have all the answers, but we do try to connect folks with the proper resources.
Sharing Information
Purple Line NOW board members have a long tradition of attending hearings, testifying on behalf of the project, being a part of Purple Line-oriented neighborhood groups, and connecting to elected officials on behalf of the Line. Our volunteer board leadership continues to meet every single month in person, as they have done for over a decade, to share information gathered and exchange ideas to keep the project on track. We attend meetings, provide updates, and take notes! Many of our members stay on top of transit news through their membership and support of other local and regional transit organizations and many are also very active on the neighborhood Community Advisory Teams.
Maintaining a Presence
Finally, Purple Line NOW maintains a strong social media presence, staying connected to thousands via Facebook and Twitter and through our website, Purple Line NOW. If you haven’t signed up for those, do so today. You’ll get the latest news and be able to participate in discussions happening on those platforms.
Remember, with your donation, your name (or your business name) will be listed on our website, as well as in event literature and signage for a year following your donation.
We are grateful for your consideration of our request and for your support, financial and otherwise. We wish you a happy and healthy fall season.
Get Connected!
Make sure you are signed up for timely alerts from Purple Line NOW via our Twitter and Facebook pages, and at our website Purple Line NOW.