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"Our over-reliance on cars and $4-per-gallon gasoline has led us to dig a really deep hole for ourselves. The Purple Line is the ladder that helps us climb up out of this hole toward the light of rational land use, friendly commutes and a stable climate." Mike Tidwell, director of CCAN |  |
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Newsletter of the Coalition to Build the Inner Purple Line December, 2006 In this issue:
1. COALITION TALKS STRATEGY WITH NEWLY ELECTED OFFICIALS CBIPL Board Members and allies held two post-election meetings in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties to discuss strategies for moving the Purple Line forward in 2007. Montgomery County The first meeting on 12/6 was held at the new Montgomery College Student Center which overlooks the completed section of the Metropolitan Branch Trail alongside the Metrorail Red Line tracks. State and County elected officials included incoming County Executive Ike Leggett, three members of the Montgomery County Council (Berliner, Elrich, Leventhal), Prince George’s Councilmember Eric Olson, new District 20 Senator Jamie Raskin and Delegate Heather Mizeur. Each of the elected officials was given an opportunity to review and comment on the Coalition’s draft legislative goals. The issue of transit funding was a common thread throughout the meeting. Marc Elrich (Council – At Large) began by expressing concern for the State’s ability to fund both the Inner Purple Line (IPL), and for the Corridor Cities Transitway (CCT). He urged consideration of metro area impact taxes or some other new funding mechanism to support a major investment in transit. He believes the major alignment challenge for the IPL is now East Silver Spring. George Leventhal (Council – At Large) is pleased that incoming Governor Martin O’Malley is positive on the light rail vision for the project. This will help ensure that the professional planning team is given more support to complete the plans and to issue a comprehensive Alternatives Study in the spring. He believes it is important that IPL supporters work with supporters of Baltimore’s Red Line and others across the state to develop a funding plan for a statewide transit-oriented vision. He is optimistic about the likelihood of gaining public support for a revenue increase based on support for Ike Leggett’s proposed 10-cent gas tax. Leventhal however, believes the Coalition should refrain from lobbying for or against any particular proposed funding plan. He also recommends working closely with Congressman Al Wynn in coming months. Ike Leggett, Montgomery County Executive, stated his support for the IPL and stressed three points: 1) money, 2) mitigation and 3) the threat that the Green Line extension to BWI will gain momentum over the Purple Line. He restated his desire to investigate cut and cover construction for limited segments of the project, but made it clear that this is not a condition for proceeding with the project. Senator-Elect Raskin echoed others on the importance of a financial mechanism for the IPL that has a “state-wide logic”. Roger Berliner (Council -District 1) supports the gas-tax idea and strongly encourages the use of professional facilitators in the IPL planning process. Del-Elect Heather Mizeur warned that the State’s bond rating will be in jeopardy if debt-financing continues. Eric Olson (Prince George’s County Council Dist. 3 and CBIPL Board Member) stressed the importance of tying Montgomery and Prince George’s counties together for the success of the IPL project. Following was a discussion namely about the charettes suggested by Mr. Berliner. The Board incorporated some of the recommendations into the evolving strategy document. Prince George’s County The second meeting was held on 12/12 at the College Park City Hall with representation from the office of County Executive Jack Johnson, from the Prince George’s County Department of Public Works and Transportation (DPWT), and from the office of Congressman Steny Hoyer (D-Md 5) and the new Majority Leader in the House of Representatives. In addition to Coalition Board members, community representation included members of the Coalition partner, the Prince George’s Advocates for Community Based Planning. Council member Eric Olson said he would push for continued commitment by the Council. He stressed the importance of the IPL for the revitalization of Prince George’s older suburban communities. He supports the idea of a feasibility study for southward extension to Largo and beyond, but agrees that it should not complicate the ongoing study of the 16 mile segment. Lou Pinkney (DPWT) added that the IPL is the first circumferential segment of the Metrorail system addressing the system’s major deficiency. Vic Weisberg (DPWT) noted that the transportation priority list was reviewed by the Council’s Transportation, Housing and Environment (THE) Committee in November and the IPL was identified as the top transit priority. The list will be finalized in January by the newly elected County Council. Paivi Spoon, representing County Executive Johnson, supported the idea of a summit between the two County Executives and confirmed the County Executive’s strong commitment to the project. Senator Paul Pinsky and Delegate Ann Healey supported the idea of a meeting with Governor O’Malley early in the new session. The Senator said the meeting should involve county executives, legislators, business, labor, civic, environmental and education leaders and should be scripted. He volunteered to contact O’Malley. Delegate Healey also suggested conducting tours of the alignment. Terrance Taylor, representing Congressman Hoyer, expressed strong support for Light Rail. He suggested taking a closer look at the Research Triangle LRT project that is in development and serves five universities and includes bike path and sidewalk connections. 2. MONTGOMERY COUNTY COUNCIL'S UNANIMOUS VOTE FOR PURPLE LINE AND CORRIDOR CITIES TRANSITWAY December 12th, in a rare unanimous vote, the newly elected Montgomery County Council stated strong support for the Purple Line and Corridor Cities Transitway. The County's resolution followed the Purple Line pledge language that endorses a light rail line running generally above ground from Bethesda to New Carrollton. The Council also broke new ground by going on record for building the Corridor Cities Transitway, which would run from Clarksburg to Shady Grove, as light rail rather than a busway. The resolution further endorsed providing more assured funding for Metro, and identified these three transit items as the county's highest pressing regional transportation priorities. An amendment, also supported unanimously, added suggesting revenues should be raised for funding transit needs, and mentioned a gas tax as a potential source. The Purple Line has previously won the unanimous support of the Prince George's Council, and Governor-Elect Martin O'Malley repeated his support for it at December 11th's Committee for Montgomery breakfast. The unanimous Montgomery County Council support for the Purple Line reflects the results of the November election, in which Purple Line supporter Roger Berliner defeated the County Council's last remaining project opponent. Each of the last three council elections has increased the number of Purple Line supporters; from a shaky 5-4 majority in the council elected in 1994, to 6-3 support in 1998 and a 7-2 majority after the 2002 election. 3. FEDERAL LANDSCAPE CHANGE FAVORABLE TO TRANSIT While last month’s elections brought many more transit-oriented leaders to the corridors of Congress, the growing federal deficit and wartime spending make expansion of the funding for transit uncertain. Election Results Democrats are likely to hold a one-seat majority on committees in congress in January and the support of transit is likely to be noteworthy. Representative Nancy Pelosi, the incoming Speaker, represents the San Francisco Bay area, home of BART and MUNIE. Maryland’s own Steny Hoyer, the new House Majority Leader , represents a district that will benefit from the Purple Line. Minnesota Rep. Jim Oberstar, incoming Chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, has jurisdiction over highways, transit, Amtrak, aviation and many key environmental statutes. Rep. Oberstar has been a strong advocate for expanding travel options and for restoring intercity passenger rail service in the U.S., and has been a longstanding champion of the 1991 ISTEA law and the principles it embraced. House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee: it is noteworthy that the current 75-member panel is the largest in Congressional history. Currently, there are 41 Republican Members and 34 Democratic Members, a ratio that presumably will be retained in the 110th Congress, with the Democrats holding the majority share of the seats. Unlike the Senate where power is shared with other Senators, Rep. Oberstar as T&I Chair will exert tremendous influence over the panel's staff and the agenda of the Subcommittees. The Senate leadership starts with Nevada Senator Harry Reid as Senate Majority Leader, with Illinois Senator Dick Durbin selected Senate Majority Whip. Unlike the House where the key policy areas are concentrated with the House T&I Committee, policy control over surface transportation issues is spread among three panels. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee: Senator Barbara Boxer, will lead the Senate EPW Committee which has sole jurisdiction over highways, some safety issues and key environmental statutes. Sen. Boxer is another Bay area native, having begun her career as a Marin County Supervisor. Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) will serve under Senator Boxer as Chair of the Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Other Democrats serving on the committee include our own Senator Ben Cardin, Lieberman (CT), Carper (DE), Clinton (NY), Lautenberg (NJ), Sanders (VT), Klobuchar (MN) and Whitehouse (RI). Senate Banking Committee: Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd will chair the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee which has jurisdiction over transit programs and policy as well as housing policy. In addition to being a strong leader on transit issues, he has focused attention on the need to coordinate transit services with human services, to connect low-income workers to employment centers, and link housing policy and transportation investments. His home state, under the leadership of Republican Governor Jodi Rell who was reelected last month, has been placing greater emphasis on rail transit investment and smart growth. Democrats serving on the panel with Sen. Dodd are: Johnson (SD), Reed (RI), Schumer (NY), Bayh (IN), Carper (DE), Menendez (NJ), Akaka (HI), Brown (OH), Casey (PA), and Tester (MT). Senate Commerce Committee: Hawaii Senator Daniel Inouye will chair the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee which sets the Senate's policy on Amtrak, freight rail, highway safety rules, and aviation. In this Congress, Senator Inouye engaged outgoing panel chair, Sen. John McCain, Sen. Lott and others in crafting legislation to provide new funding for Amtrak as well as resources to support state efforts in expanding intercity rail services. This legislation is now awaiting Congressional action, but final action is likely during the next Congress. Sen. Carper, a longtime leader on Amtrak issues, joins the panel for the 110th Congress. Sen. Lott, who is again assuming a Senate leadership role, will be better positioned to support a resolution of the Amtrak funding issues. Joining Sen. Inouye are: Rockefeller (WVA), Kerry (MA), Dorgan (ND), Boxer, Nelson (Fl), Cantwell (WA), Lautenberg (NJ), Pryor (AR), Carper (DE), McCaskill (MO), and Klobuchar (MN). While the war in Iraq trumped transportation and many other important domestic issues in the federal election, the debate on the need to maintain and improve our transportation infrastructure is not over. With the Federal contribution to transit in the $1.5 to $1.8 billion range, local projects need to be compelling to compete with the needs of other jurisdictions. The Purple Line has one key advantage – most members of Congress have personal experience traveling on the beltway and on our inner suburban roads from visits to Washington. Adapted from a longer report and with permission of the author, Kevin McCarty, Surface Transportation Policy Partnership (STTP). www.transact.org 4. SHORT RIDES Minneapolis-St. Paul Light Rail Connection moving forward 12/14/06: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) gave approval for Minnesota to begin preliminary engineering work on the 11 mile light rail connector to tie together the Twin Cities. The project cost is estimated at $930 million, a figure which may need to be reduced to meet FTA funding standards for its next project milestone in 2008. Like the Purple Line, the connector will provide direct service to the state university. The stops along the line are also expected to be about one mile apart, with more frequent stops in the two downtowns. A trip on the entire 11 mile length is projected to take about 35 minutes. Ridership projections for the line are 38,100 daily riders by 2020 and 43,300 by 2030. Minneapolis' existing Hiawatha line is generally viewed to be very successful, helping generate significant support among business owners for the new light rail project. John Porcari named MDOT Secretary John Porcari will be reassuming his role as Secretary of Transportation for the administration of Governor Martin O’Malley. Four years ago Mr. Porcari stepped down in the wake of the victory of Governor Robert Ehrlich. Since that time he served as the Vice President of Administration and Finance at the University of Maryland College Park where he continued to speak out in support of the Light Rail Purple Line. He also worked to promote a significant transit-oriented development in the 39 acre East Campus redevelopment district – a project that may center around the future Purple Line station. 5. CORRECTION In the November newsletter, we incorrectly reported that County Council Member Peters was retired. County Council Member Peters (4th District) was elected on Nov. 7, 2006 to the State Senate from the 23rd Legislative District. We welcome another Purple Line supporter to the Prince George’s Delegation! 6. THIS NEWSLETTER This newsletter is produced by volunteer supporters of the Coalition to Build the Inner Purple Line (CBIPL) which was formed in January, 2003 by business, labor, environmental and community organizations to promote the light rail transit line connecting Bethesda, Silver Spring, Takoma/Langley Crossroads, Riverdale Park and New Carrollton. The Coalition supports completion of the hiker-biker trail between Bethesda and Silver Spring, as well as pedestrian enhancements as part of the transit project elsewhere along the alignment.
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68,000 riders each weekday is huge! Counting down to completion of Purple Line DEIS; Latest news: Latest News; How you can help 
See: We need you to help keep the Purple Line a state and county priority. Write a letter, make a call or send an e-mail in support of the Purple Line today. See: Contact List |
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