FOLLOW US ON:
Learning on the Purple Line
~ An Interview with Dr. Brad Stewart ~
| This month Purple Line NOW interviews Dr. Brad Stewart, Vice President & Provost of the Silver Spring/Takoma Park campus of Montgomery College, on the impact the Purple Line will have on Montgomery College students and on other nearby higher educational institutions. | 
|
PLN: How are most students getting to campus currently and how do you see this changing once the Purple Line is complete?
Brad: We have some survey data that asks our students how they get to campus and more than half of our students have reported using transit several times a week to get to campus. That’s not as true for the students at our Rockville and Germantown campuses. The Takoma Park campus is a half mile walk from the Takoma Park and Silver Spring Metro stations which is kind of stretching it for students and their schedules. So if there was a Purple Line station three to four blocks away at the new Silver Spring Library I believe it would dramatically increase the number of students using transit. Plus, a lot of our students are dual enrolled at College Park so they go to College Park from our campus and then back. The convenience for these students is enormous.
What’s exciting to me is that the Purple Line also makes it possible for students of the Takoma Park campus to get to the Rockville campus using public transit. Right now, students have to use a bus. There are some programs where the first year is available at one campus, but not the other like engineering. So a lot of students would like to be able to ride public transportation from Takoma Park to Rockville and have it be convenient, but right now it’s more than an hour. With the Purple Line it would take 15 minutes to get from Silver Spring to Bethesda and then another 15 minutes from Bethesda to Rockville on the Metro Red Line.
PLN: Besides helping students get to class, how else do you see students using the Purple Line?
Brad: I’m interested in the Purple Line’s link to Bethesda and the ability to get to downtown DC for internships with the federal government instead of going all away around the Red Line like you do now. It might help our students get to clinical sites for our health sciences students like George Washington University hospital or other clinics and doctor’s offices. We have many students enrolled in our health sciences programs such as nursing, radiology, diagnostic and medical stenography, and health information management. With each of these programs you have to spend some time in a clinic or hospital or doctor’s office and this would help them get around to those locations.
In addition, a lot more students transfer to GWU than you would think. GWU does a pretty good job of giving our students scholarships, particularly science and engineering scholarships. It also opens up the other colleges and universities in the District of Columbia. The Purple Line could create what I like to call “Purple educational arteries” through the County and the District.
PLN: Are most students aware of the Purple Line? What is the current perception of the Purple Line among Montgomery College students?
Brad: We talk about it a lot to our student government types. When we’ve had events on campus like Purple Line fundraisers the students become more aware because there’s something going on at the campus. It would probably be possible to mobilize them more than we do. It’s difficult for community college students to think about something in 2015.
In general, they like the idea of the Purple Line because it will be a fairly easy walk up Fenton Street to our campus. Our students are not fond of walking across Georgia Avenue from the Silver Spring Transit Center to reach campus. They think it would be more convenient to walk along Fenton. And it might be easier to hop a bus from the Silver Spring library station to campus. I think the more they know about it the more they’ll like it.
PLN: How does Montgomery College encourage its students to use mass transit?
Brad: We pay for them to do it, or rather, they pay for it themselves. The students are assessed a transportation fee and the students can use Ride-On for free. Students are assessed the transportation fee no matter how they get to campus so it behooves them to use Ride-On to get the most bang for their buck.
PLN: What are the most common complaints you hear from students with regards to the current public transportation options?
Brad: The biggest complaint is that the Ride-On routes aren’t really convenient. The 17 and 18 bus routes take off from the Silver Spring Transit Center but they meander all over the place before they reach campus. One of those buses even goes to downtown Takoma Park before reaching campus. It’s annoying for the students.
PLN: Has the lack of transportation options been a barrier to students attending Montgomery College?
Brad: For the students who depend on public transportation, it carves into the limited amount of time they have to study. They can’t really be productive on the bus. So they’re using the bus and it carves into family time, it carves into study time. The average Montgomery College student might have a full time job or a number of part-time jobs and they have family obligations and then they want to get through school as quickly as possible so they often wind up with too many courses. It is my opinion that convenient public transportation, in particular the Purple Line, will make our students lives easier and make them more successful college students. Assuming they use the extra time to hit the books!
PLN: Does the Takoma Park campus enroll many students from Prince George’s County or the District?
Brad: We get a lot of students from Prince George’s County who are willing to pay the extra tuition fees for being out of county residents to get into our health sciences program. They might really stand to benefit from the Purple Line. The same thing is true for DC students. Until recently there wasn’t a good community college program in the District. The last time we checked we had more than a thousand students from the District enrolled in the Montgomery College system.
PLN: Do you see enrollment increasing once the Purple Line is built?
Brad: I would make an educated guess that our enrollment will increase once the Purple Line is built. Transportation is tough for our students, but it’s a nightmare for a College Park student. It will also increase the number of dual enrolled students which is good for both institutions. College Park doesn’t have the capacity for large numbers of students taking 100 level courses. It will be better for students to take them at Montgomery College and transfer over.
Many of our students are in complete shock when they finally do transfer over to U of M. They’re shocked by the time it takes them to get from class to class and they’re frustrated by the parking issues and the cost of a parking permit. The travel time from Silver Spring to College Park will only be half an hour. The Purple Line will be a cost effective, time effective means of transportation for students. It’s no different for the general population.
Reading our newsletter for the first time?
Sign up to receive future newsletters.
Brad: We have some survey data that asks our students how they get to campus and more than half of our students have reported using transit several times a week to get to campus. That’s not as true for the students at our Rockville and Germantown campuses. The Takoma Park campus is a half mile walk from the Takoma Park and Silver Spring Metro stations which is kind of stretching it for students and their schedules. So if there was a Purple Line station three to four blocks away at the new Silver Spring Library I believe it would dramatically increase the number of students using transit. Plus, a lot of our students are dual enrolled at College Park so they go to College Park from our campus and then back. The convenience for these students is enormous.
What’s exciting to me is that the Purple Line also makes it possible for students of the Takoma Park campus to get to the Rockville campus using public transit. Right now, students have to use a bus. There are some programs where the first year is available at one campus, but not the other like engineering. So a lot of students would like to be able to ride public transportation from Takoma Park to Rockville and have it be convenient, but right now it’s more than an hour. With the Purple Line it would take 15 minutes to get from Silver Spring to Bethesda and then another 15 minutes from Bethesda to Rockville on the Metro Red Line.
PLN: Besides helping students get to class, how else do you see students using the Purple Line?
Brad: I’m interested in the Purple Line’s link to Bethesda and the ability to get to downtown DC for internships with the federal government instead of going all away around the Red Line like you do now. It might help our students get to clinical sites for our health sciences students like George Washington University hospital or other clinics and doctor’s offices. We have many students enrolled in our health sciences programs such as nursing, radiology, diagnostic and medical stenography, and health information management. With each of these programs you have to spend some time in a clinic or hospital or doctor’s office and this would help them get around to those locations.
In addition, a lot more students transfer to GWU than you would think. GWU does a pretty good job of giving our students scholarships, particularly science and engineering scholarships. It also opens up the other colleges and universities in the District of Columbia. The Purple Line could create what I like to call “Purple educational arteries” through the County and the District.
PLN: Are most students aware of the Purple Line? What is the current perception of the Purple Line among Montgomery College students?
Brad: We talk about it a lot to our student government types. When we’ve had events on campus like Purple Line fundraisers the students become more aware because there’s something going on at the campus. It would probably be possible to mobilize them more than we do. It’s difficult for community college students to think about something in 2015.
In general, they like the idea of the Purple Line because it will be a fairly easy walk up Fenton Street to our campus. Our students are not fond of walking across Georgia Avenue from the Silver Spring Transit Center to reach campus. They think it would be more convenient to walk along Fenton. And it might be easier to hop a bus from the Silver Spring library station to campus. I think the more they know about it the more they’ll like it.
PLN: How does Montgomery College encourage its students to use mass transit?
Brad: We pay for them to do it, or rather, they pay for it themselves. The students are assessed a transportation fee and the students can use Ride-On for free. Students are assessed the transportation fee no matter how they get to campus so it behooves them to use Ride-On to get the most bang for their buck.
PLN: What are the most common complaints you hear from students with regards to the current public transportation options?
Brad: The biggest complaint is that the Ride-On routes aren’t really convenient. The 17 and 18 bus routes take off from the Silver Spring Transit Center but they meander all over the place before they reach campus. One of those buses even goes to downtown Takoma Park before reaching campus. It’s annoying for the students.
PLN: Has the lack of transportation options been a barrier to students attending Montgomery College?
Brad: For the students who depend on public transportation, it carves into the limited amount of time they have to study. They can’t really be productive on the bus. So they’re using the bus and it carves into family time, it carves into study time. The average Montgomery College student might have a full time job or a number of part-time jobs and they have family obligations and then they want to get through school as quickly as possible so they often wind up with too many courses. It is my opinion that convenient public transportation, in particular the Purple Line, will make our students lives easier and make them more successful college students. Assuming they use the extra time to hit the books!
PLN: Does the Takoma Park campus enroll many students from Prince George’s County or the District?
Brad: We get a lot of students from Prince George’s County who are willing to pay the extra tuition fees for being out of county residents to get into our health sciences program. They might really stand to benefit from the Purple Line. The same thing is true for DC students. Until recently there wasn’t a good community college program in the District. The last time we checked we had more than a thousand students from the District enrolled in the Montgomery College system.
PLN: Do you see enrollment increasing once the Purple Line is built?
Brad: I would make an educated guess that our enrollment will increase once the Purple Line is built. Transportation is tough for our students, but it’s a nightmare for a College Park student. It will also increase the number of dual enrolled students which is good for both institutions. College Park doesn’t have the capacity for large numbers of students taking 100 level courses. It will be better for students to take them at Montgomery College and transfer over.
Many of our students are in complete shock when they finally do transfer over to U of M. They’re shocked by the time it takes them to get from class to class and they’re frustrated by the parking issues and the cost of a parking permit. The travel time from Silver Spring to College Park will only be half an hour. The Purple Line will be a cost effective, time effective means of transportation for students. It’s no different for the general population.
Sign up to receive future newsletters.
Purple Line and Land Use
The Post article on July 18 describing the proposed developments along the Purple Line shows why we have been advocating the light rail Purple Line for so long. ("Lack of Money doesn't Stop Purple Line Development Plans", Washington Post, July 18)
Given the demographics of the Washington area and our good fortunes during the recession, the arrival of new residents is inevitable and in progress.
Where to provide places for our new neighbors is, of course, one of the most difficult planning questions we face.
Their jobs are coming here; where the job-holders will live is up to us. Many among us don't really care, or would rather the new workers just lived anywhere else, so the neighborhoods we now enjoy can remain as they are.
Others of us who spend time in our cars realize that if people stayed here and/or commuted some other way than by car, we might have fewer cars at rush hours. Or we might have choices, too.
Seems obvious, but it's not. Purple Line NOW has seen the delay of light rail for years at the hands of those who 1) don't like the public transit at all and/or near them, 2) don't want the new construction which is likely to occur near it, 3) believe buses are better because they are cheaper.
We have long argued that light rail is superior precisely because it encourages development at its stations in ways that buses just don't. And even though many hurdles remain before we can ride, the project is certain enough now that property owners are beginning to plan for its arrival.
The potential for housing our new neighbors in communities near the stations is already clear in Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Silver Spring, Langley Park, at the University of Maryland and at New Carrollton.
Holton Lane in Langley Park
These new communities will appear with a powerful alternative to the car nearby for the people who live there. A household accommodated at any one of these places is a household not located at Clarksburg, Gaithersburg, Olney, Laurel or the counties beyond.
And the densities appropriate to these places will make them mixed-use communities instead of subdivisions while easing development pressures on the wedges, corridors and the Agricultural Preserve.
Early indicators are positive. Planners need support to accommodate logical growth at selected stations on the Purple Line, and all of us need to press for prompt construction, both to protect the neighborhoods we like and make new ones for the next generation.
Given the demographics of the Washington area and our good fortunes during the recession, the arrival of new residents is inevitable and in progress.
Where to provide places for our new neighbors is, of course, one of the most difficult planning questions we face.
Their jobs are coming here; where the job-holders will live is up to us. Many among us don't really care, or would rather the new workers just lived anywhere else, so the neighborhoods we now enjoy can remain as they are.
Others of us who spend time in our cars realize that if people stayed here and/or commuted some other way than by car, we might have fewer cars at rush hours. Or we might have choices, too.
Seems obvious, but it's not. Purple Line NOW has seen the delay of light rail for years at the hands of those who 1) don't like the public transit at all and/or near them, 2) don't want the new construction which is likely to occur near it, 3) believe buses are better because they are cheaper.
We have long argued that light rail is superior precisely because it encourages development at its stations in ways that buses just don't. And even though many hurdles remain before we can ride, the project is certain enough now that property owners are beginning to plan for its arrival.
The potential for housing our new neighbors in communities near the stations is already clear in Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Silver Spring, Langley Park, at the University of Maryland and at New Carrollton.
BEFORE AFTER
These new communities will appear with a powerful alternative to the car nearby for the people who live there. A household accommodated at any one of these places is a household not located at Clarksburg, Gaithersburg, Olney, Laurel or the counties beyond.
And the densities appropriate to these places will make them mixed-use communities instead of subdivisions while easing development pressures on the wedges, corridors and the Agricultural Preserve.
Early indicators are positive. Planners need support to accommodate logical growth at selected stations on the Purple Line, and all of us need to press for prompt construction, both to protect the neighborhoods we like and make new ones for the next generation.
Short Rides
ACT 25th Anniversary:
Our friends at Action Committee for Transit (ACT) will be celebrating their 25th anniversary on Tuesday, October 11th, from 7pm - 9pm, at 517 Albany Avenue in Takoma Park, Maryland.
ACT has been advocating for better transit and better communities before there was ever a Purple Line NOW so we have much to thank them for. Our organizations have a shared passion for improving our transit options and by supporting each other we can extend our reach further than we could by ourselves. We’ll be there to celebrate the successes of ACT on October 11th and we hope you will be too! For more information regarding the gala can be found by clicking here
The most exciting piece of news to come out of these meetings is that the Maryland Transit Administration estimates that the Chevy Chase Lake station will be a 5 minute ride from Downtown Silver Spring and Downtown Bethesda! The desirability of living this close to two major downtown areas can not be underscored enough. The opportunity to maximize ridership and make good on the County’s commitment to transit oriented development is enormous. We will continue to follow the Chevy Chase Lake Sector Plan as it makes its way through the Montgomery County Planning Board and County Council over the coming months.
ACT has been advocating for better transit and better communities before there was ever a Purple Line NOW so we have much to thank them for. Our organizations have a shared passion for improving our transit options and by supporting each other we can extend our reach further than we could by ourselves. We’ll be there to celebrate the successes of ACT on October 11th and we hope you will be too! For more information regarding the gala can be found by clicking here
Chevy Chase Lake Development:
For the last several weeks, representatives of Purple Line NOW have been attending meetings of Chevy Chase Neighbors for Smart Growth to keep tabs on the future redevelopment around the proposed Purple Line Station at Chevy Chase Lake Drive and Connecticut Ave. And when appropriate, our reps educated the group on the longstanding plans to run a light rail line along the Georgetown Branch right-of-way and of the many examples of light rail integrating seamlessly with urban communities.