Please feel free to share this bi-weekly newsletter with others who may appreciate information about the project. Thank you for your feedback to our newsletter - we hope you continue to find the information useful and proactive! As always, if you have any feedback on how we can improve the newsletter, drop us a line at [email protected]. If you find the information contained in our newsletter useful, please consider a donation to us (we are a not-for-profit organization). 

CONSTRUCTION NEWS TO KNOW

Roadwork on Kenilworth Avenue

Construction activity is heating up in multiple parts of Prince George’s County, but especially so in Riverdale Park!

Construction crews are currently in the process of removing the raised medians on Kenilworth Avenue between River Road and Riverdale Road to make way for the Purple Line tracks that will ultimately run down the center of the road. Once the medians have been removed, they will be paved over until the tracks are laid at a later date. New traffic medians will also be constructed at a later date.

Construction barrels sit atop former median at intersection of River Rd. & Kenilworth Ave.

If you live near or travel through the vicinity of Kenilworth Avenue, you know that the current conditions on Kenilworth Avenue are less than ideal for pedestrians. At present, there is no sidewalk on the east side of Kenilworth Avenue. But once construction is complete, there will be a continuous sidewalk on Kenilworth from River Road to Riverdale Road. The Purple Line will also close major gaps in the sidewalk network on the west side of the road to create a continuous walking path. And if that wasn’t enough, bike lanes will be constructed on both sides of the roadway. Needless to say, Kenilworth Avenue will look and function dramatically different several years from now. For detailed Kenilworth Avenue and Riverdale Road maps and more, see the Riverdale Park CAT materials.

Kenilworth Avenue looking south, with Rinaldi's Riverdale Bowl on the right

Long-term Lane Closure on Riverdale Road

The road work on Kenilworth Avenue isn’t the only construction activity occurring in Riverdale Park.

In the comings days, Purple Line Transit Constructors will close the right-hand lane of eastbound Riverdale Road for long-term construction between Kenilworth Avenue and Mustang Drive. The closure is necessitated by the construction of the Purple Line tracks on the south side of the road. When the Purple Line trains make the turn from Kenilworth Avenue to Riverdale Road, the tracks will transition to the south side of the road, separate from the vehicular travel lanes.

The Purple Line route is shown in purple, while the road closure is shown in orange

In a separate, but related project, the Maryland State Highway Administration will be installing almost 1,500 feet of new sidewalk on the south side of Riverdale Road from 58th Avenue, where the sidewalk currently ends, to Mustang Road. A sidewalk extension may seem trivial in a project the size of the Purple Line, but it will enable residents of East Riverdale to walk to the nearest Purple Line station at the intersection of Kenilworth and Riverdale, as well as the shops and other points-of-interests surrounding it.

Station Renderings of UMD Stations

Last week, the University of Maryland posted several conceptual renderings of what two of the campus’s Purple Line station stops could look like on their Purple Line FAQ page. While the images are from 2016*, we thought they were worth resharing since they may be new to some of you.

*Correction: our e-newsletter stated the renderings were new. However, the renderings were from 2016.

Campus Drive looking south east towards the Stamp Student Union

The university shared two images of the future Campus Center station, to be located near Cole Field House, and another of the planned East Campus station, which will be sited next to Ritchie Coliseum on Rossborough Lane.

Another angle of Campus Drive station with Cole Field House pictured in background

Rendering of  East Campus Station at intersection of Baltimore Ave. and Rossborough Lane; Ritchie Coliseum pictured on the right

There have been many artist renderings of the UMD stops over the years, but now that design is nearing completion, we are getting a new glimpse of how the stations will integrate with the existing built environment on campus. While these images offer the most detailed look yet at the station stops, the university has stressed that the designs are not final, and that many details are yet to be decided. In any case, it won't be long before the designs become reality!

For the route and placement of the four College Park stations and more, see the College Park and M Square CAT materials.

PURPLE LINE NOW NEWS AND EVENTS

We want to take a moment to thank everyone who took the time to respond to our heartfelt appeal last week. Your contributions have a made a significant and positive impact on our budget already and we appreciate your quick and generous action on our behalf. We are updating our sponsor page daily - take a peek at our terrific supporters to date!

Here's the link in case you missed last week's letter from the officers of our Board of Directors. It's never too late to become a sponsor! Your name or your business name will be highlighted at all of the fora in the Envisioning the Purple Line series, as well on our website, for one year following your donation. We are appreciative of all donations, large and small. You may find more information about all of the benefits of sponsorship on our website. As always, if you have any questions, contact us at [email protected].

Once ground was broken on the Purple Line last year, our organization set an enhanced strategy going forward. Along with maintaining an informative and timely website, having an interactive social media presence, and making sure we are at as many Purple Line related community events, meetings, and hearings as possible, we are committed to the following endeavors to make sure the community remains informed and the project is the best it can be. We will continue to:

• Provide educational fora to communities along the route. These are free to all who attend and include presentations and panel discussions from transit experts, concessionaire, county elected officials - and a question and answer period. Press is invited and regularly attend. We are hard at work planning the next forum for later this fall. Stay tuned for location and dates!
• Connect people to solutions - through a host of platforms including our website, our bi-weekly newsletter, educational fora, email, and phone conversations. 
• Add context to construction woes through our bi-weekly newsletter by staying on top of construction issues and upcoming headaches to alert our community to ways to work around those issues when possible. We work with MTA and the concessionaire to stay abreast of construction issues and project demands.
• Meet with residents, Chambers of Commerce, federal, state, and local elected officials, business owners, developers, and the concessionaire to stay on top of issues that bubble up. Members of our Board and our team are fixtures at CAT meetings, community hearings, and all sorts of events that involve the project to gather information that we can then push out to you.

Again, thank you for your support. Your feedback is always welcome - let us know where we can help!

PURPLE LINE NOW ACTION

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