We are very excited to announce the next Purple Line NOW forum, Planning for the Purple Line – Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties’ Initiatives, will be on Wednesday, September 20 from 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm!

This forum will bring together Councilmembers from both Prince George's and Montgomery counties, the Chairs of each county's Planning Board, and inside-baseball staffers from each. 

Mark your calendars and REGISTER to reserve your seat now!

In the coming days, we will announce the full slate of speakers, but please take a moment to register below. As with all the fora we have hosted over the past many years, these remain free and open to the public and press, but you must register in advance:

Questions for panelists? Please submit questions in advance of the webinar – our panelists will try to answer as many as they can in the time allotted. The earlier you can submit your questions, the better the opportunity for us to provide some answers, so don't delay! Send your questions to Christine Scott, Purple Line NOW Executive Director at [email protected].

In today's edition of Purple Line NOW News, here's what you'll find:

• What's Happening at PLN?
  • Forum Registration is OPEN!
  • Fall Fundraising Season Begins
• Happening Along the Purple Line Corridor
  • From Our Friends at PLCC
  • Long Branch Fall Festival
• Construction Updates and Project Features
  
  • Things That Caught Our Eye

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.

WHAT'S HAPPENING AT PLN?

Registration for PLN Fall Forum is OPEN!!

We are very excited to announce the next Purple Line NOW forum, Planning for the Purple Line – Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties’ Initiatives, will be on Wednesday, September 20 from 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm!

This forum will bring together Councilmembers from both Prince George's and Montgomery counties, the Chairs of each county's Planning Board, and inside-baseball staffers from each. 

Mark your calendars and REGISTER to reserve your seat now!

In the coming days, we will announce the full slate of speakers, but please take a moment to register below. As with all the fora we have hosted over the past many years, these remain free and open to the public and press, but you must register in advance:

Questions for panelists? Please submit questions in advance of the webinar – our panelists will try to answer as many as they can in the time allotted. The earlier you can submit your questions, the better the opportunity for us to provide some answers, so don't delay! Send your questions to Christine Scott, Purple Line NOW Executive Director at [email protected].

**Event Sponsorship: If you would like to sponsor the event, please let us know. We publish all our donors and sponsors at every forum – we can’t do this without you. Thanks in advance for your consideration!

Fall Fundraising Season Begins

You may see a few more asks from us in the coming weeks -- fall is usually the time when Purple Line NOW focuses our efforts on fundraising, whether it is through event sponsorship (see above!), individual sponsors, or corporate sponsorship -- every dime and dollar is appreciated and put to good use.

Your donation will help us continue our advocacy efforts and ensure the Purple Line project is a success. If you are a previous donor, thank you for your past gift(s) to us and continuing your support into the future. If you are not sure whether you contributed to us in the past year, check out our current donors on our website. (All donors are listed for a year following their donation.)

If you are new to us, welcome! Please contact us with any questions you may have. 

The "DONATE" button below will take you directly to the donation page. Thank you in advance for your consideration and for all you do for our community!

HAPPENING ALONG THE PURPLE LINE CORRIDOR

From Our Friends at the Purple Line Corridor Coalition

Friends at the Latino Economic Development Center recently authored an article in Nonprofit Quarterly about small business preservation work in partnership with the Purple Line Corridor Coalition. Read the piece to learn more about coordinated efforts to support small business owners who are organizing to stay in their communities and benefit from the Purple Line once its complete.

Long Branch Fall Festival

With temperatures soaring this week to record highs, it may not feel quite like autumn is around the corner, but by the weekend, hopefully temperatures will have cooled and fall will be in the air. Our friends at Action Committee for Transit will have a booth at the Long Branch Fall Festival -- if you are around, make sure to swing by and say hi!

CONSTRUCTION UPDATES & PROJECT FEATURES

From the Purple Line MD Team:

From Holly Arnold, Administrator, MDOT MTA

STAY CONNECTED

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.

In today's edition of Purple Line NOW News, here's what you'll find:

• What's Happening at PLN?
  • Purple Line NOW Forum
  • Thank you!
• Happening Along the Purple Line Corridor
  • Impacted Small Business Grants Available
  • Purple Line Corridor Business Directory
  • Purple Line NOW Joins Coalition Effort to Increase Metro Funding
  • Items that Caught Our Eye
• Construction Updates and Project Features
  
  • Photos Around the Corridor

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.

WHAT'S HAPPENING AT PLN?

Purple Line NOW Forum

We are working to pull together a forum headlined by both the Prince George's and Montgomery counties' Planning Boards in September. Stay tuned and watch this space for more information!

Thank You!

A big THANK YOU to all who answered our call for financial support a few weeks ago! We had quite few donations from new supporters -- welcome aboard!! To all of our supporters, thank you for your continued help during these summer months -- we truly cannot do this without you.

If you don't see your name on our website list of sponsors, we hope you will consider a gift to Purple Line NOW. For those who may have missed it, we are reprinting our appeal below and ask for your help to continue our work:

We are making an appeal to those of you who have not contributed to Purple Line NOW in a while and to those who have never donated to our organization. For those of you who are new to us, you may not realize that Purple Line NOW does not do any special event fundraising, nor are we underwritten by any organization or company. Everything we do -- all the advocacy, newsletters, educational webinars -- is supported by our donors. We operate on a tiny budget (under $20,000 a year) and when our coffers get low, we ask our supporters to consider a donation to us.

To that end, we wanted to reach out to you with a quick update on the status of the Purple Line project and to ask for your support.

As you know, Purple Line NOW was established to promote the approval and funding of the Purple Line project. After more than 20 years of advocacy, we were thrilled when the project was finally approved. We had worked tirelessly to ensure that the Purple Line would become a reality, and we are proud of our efforts.

However, we have learned that since construction began, the challenges to completing the project have continued. Nevertheless, we remain convinced that the Purple Line will have an incredibly positive impact on the quality of life for commuters and travelers in our region. We believe that the Purple Line will provide a vital connection between neighborhoods, universities, and job centers, and will help to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution.

Despite the challenges, we here at Purple Line NOW have continued to work as a conduit between the community and builders so that questions and concerns can be addressed. We have advocated for a final product that is a real asset for the communities it will serve. We have also been working to raise awareness of the benefits of the Purple Line and to build support for the project.

However, we cannot do this work alone. We rely on the support of donors like you to help us continue our efforts. We are asking for your help once again to ensure that the Purple Line project is completed as planned, and that it serves the needs of our community.

Your donation will help us continue our advocacy efforts and ensure the Purple Line project is a success.

If you are a previous donor, thank you for your past gift to us and for your consideration of continuing your support into the future. If you are not sure whether you contributed to us in the past year, check out our current donors on our website. (All donors are listed for a year following their donation.)

If you are new to us, welcome! Please contact us with any questions you may have. 

The "DONATE" button below will take you directly to the donation page. Thank you in advance for your consideration and for all you do for our community!

HAPPENING ALONG THE PURPLE LINE CORRIDOR

Impacted Small Business Grants Available

This announcement comes from Montgomery County Councilmember Andrew Friedson's newsletter just this morning:

"Independently owned and operated businesses with 20 or fewer employees impacted by Purple Line construction can apply for County Phase III grants starting August 15th. The application will be posted here. The County’s Business Center will host informational webinars on the program on Aug. 29, 30 and 31 at 8070 Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring."

Businesses are encouraged to apply, even if they do not have all the required information readily available. The County’s Business Center staff will assist all businesses throughout the process. If you have questions, please contact [email protected] or [email protected].

Purple Line Corridor Business Directory

While we are talking about small businesses -- do you want to return to an old favorite (or find a new one) along the corridor? Check out this Purple Line Corridor Business Directory!

Purple Line NOW Joins Coalition Effort to Increase Metro Funding

Purple Line NOW has worked in tandem with the Coalition for Smarter Growth (CSG) on joint efforts over the years and our leadership has just agreed to sign on to participate in their newest campaign aimed at winning support for sustained dedicated operating funding for WMATA. You can read more about the effort in their press release and you may see updates in the Purple Line NOW News from time to time.

Items That Caught Our Eye

Montgomery County Councilmember Balcombe retweeted and tagged Purple Line NOW in this fun post by Annie Tulkin:

CONSTRUCTION UPDATES & PROJECT FEATURES

From the Purple Line MD Team:

Photos From Around the Corridor

At Purple Line NOW's quarterly board meeting last month, we were pleased to hear a report from the Purple Line MDOT team about the progress crews are making throughout the corridor. With over 700 crew workers at more than 60 sites and 75% of the underground utility work done and dusted, the photos are getting more and more dramatic. It is nice to see progress happening above ground, too!

Photo Courtesy: MDOT MTA

Photo Courtesy: MDOT MTA

Photo Courtesy: MDOT MTA

STAY CONNECTED

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.

In today's edition of Purple Line NOW News, here's what you'll find:

• What's Happening at PLN?
  • Why We Ask for Support
• Happening Along the Purple Line Corridor
  
  • Purple Line NOW Forum
• Construction Updates and Project Features
  
  • Update on Project Delay
  • Purple Line Artwork
  • Other Items that Caught Our Eye
  • Photos Around the Corridor

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.

WHAT'S HAPPENING AT PLN?

A Purple Line NOW Appeal

A big THANK YOU to all who answered our call for financial support a few weeks ago! If you don't see your name on our website list of sponsors, we hope you will consider a gift to Purple Line NOW. For those who may have missed it, we are reprinting our appeal below and ask for your help to continue our work:

We are making an appeal to those of you who have not contributed to Purple Line NOW in a while and to those who have never donated to our organization. For those of you who are new to us, you may not realize that Purple Line NOW does not do any special event fundraising, nor are we underwritten by any organization or company. Everything we do -- all the advocacy, newsletters, educational webinars -- is supported by our donors. We operate on a tiny budget (under $20,000 a year) and when our coffers get low, we ask our supporters to consider a donation to us.

To that end, we wanted to reach out to you with a quick update on the status of the Purple Line project and to ask for your support.

As you know, Purple Line NOW was established to promote the approval and funding of the Purple Line project. After more than 20 years of advocacy, we were thrilled when the project was finally approved. We had worked tirelessly to ensure that the Purple Line would become a reality, and we are proud of our efforts.

However, we have learned that since construction began, the challenges to completing the project have continued. Nevertheless, we remain convinced that the Purple Line will have an incredibly positive impact on the quality of life for commuters and travelers in our region. We believe that the Purple Line will provide a vital connection between neighborhoods, universities, and job centers, and will help to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution.

Despite the challenges, we here at Purple Line NOW have continued to work as a conduit between the community and builders so that questions and concerns can be addressed. We have advocated for a final product that is a real asset for the communities it will serve. We have also been working to raise awareness of the benefits of the Purple Line and to build support for the project.

However, we cannot do this work alone. We rely on the support of donors like you to help us continue our efforts. We are asking for your help once again to ensure that the Purple Line project is completed as planned, and that it serves the needs of our community.

Your donation will help us continue our advocacy efforts and ensure the Purple Line project is a success.

If you are a previous donor, thank you for your past gift to us and for your consideration of continuing your support into the future. If you are not sure whether you contributed to us in the past year, check out our current donors on our website. (All donors are listed for a year following their donation.)

If you are new to us, welcome! Please contact us with any questions you may have. 

The "DONATE" button below will take you directly to the donation page. Thank you in advance for your consideration and for all you do for our community!

HAPPENING ALONG THE PURPLE LINE CORRIDOR

Purple Line NOW Forum

We are working to pull together a forum headlined by both the Prince George's and Montgomery counties' Planning Boards in September. Stay tuned and watch this space for more information!

CONSTRUCTION UPDATES & PROJECT FEATURES

Update on Project Delay

Back in February, Purple Line NOW News reported on a potential delay occurring later this year after an analysis of the project status was conducted on behalf of the new builder. It seemed very likely then that the project would face a seven-month delay into early 2027.

While the timeline for the project (which would include the delay) was not revised until earlier this month, the revision may have come as a surprise to some. In the monthly newsletter from the Purple Line MDOT team, Project Director Ray Biggs II writes, “I wanted to let our stakeholders, partners, community advisory team members, and business owners know, as soon as possible, about an important change regarding Purple Line construction. The Maryland Transit Administration and Purple Line Transit Partners (PLTP) today requested approval from the Board of Public Works (BPW) of a modification to the Purple Line Public-Private Partnership (P3) Agreement that formally extends the contractual deadline for achieving Revenue Service Availability to Spring 2027.”

Director Biggs explained that the revised schedule for opening day, “reflects the ongoing challenges and complexities of completing construction in a dense urban environment, the ongoing national workforce and supply chain issues, delays in completion of utility relocation activities, and the unique history of the Purple Line Light Rail Project.”

He notes the larger context on this delay and cost increase. The new concessionaire discovered complications that contributed to cost increases and delays at some of the work sites that had been dormant for two years. This dormancy had been a result of two significant and “highly uncommon” events: 1) the initial lawsuit that allowed a lengthy delay before finally being dismissed, and 2) the need to replace the design-build contractor after the initial concessionaire left the project. Certainly, ongoing supply chain issues because of the unprecedented pandemic and the labor force shortages played a role, as well.

We are grateful that the Maryland Transit Administration and the Concessionaire are working together to identify and mitigate further delays, and while the seven-month extension was not unexpected, we are encouraged to see so much activity happening along the corridor. A special thanks to the crews who are working through these hot summer months to get us closer to opening day.

From the Purple Line MD Team:

Maryland Today Article:

Now seems like a good time to highlight an article that first appeared back in April, but reminds us of all that is to come. (Maryland Today Staff. "The Promise (and Pain) of the Purple Line." Maryland Today, 18 April 2023.)

Photos From Around the Corridor

Photo Courtesy: MDOT MTA

Photo 

Courtesy: MDOT MTA

Photo Courtesy: MDOT MTA

STAY CONNECTED

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.