"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

MTA Open Houses Start Thursday Night in College Park MAY 7TH, 2007: Thursday evening (5/8/08) the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) will start making their final round of presentations for the Purple Line and we ask you to join us at one of these events to show your support for the Purple Line. MTA and its consultants have spent the last half a year refining ridership numbers and alignment options for a project that appears well positioned to meet the competition for federal transit funding. With ridership estimates ranging up to 68,000 boardings per day, projections for the Purple Line put it among the highest performing new transit lines being considered for funding in the United States. Despite this, the town of Chevy Chase, with a population of 2,726 people (2000 census), and the Columbia Country Club (entry fee $70,000) have launched a full bore assault against the Purple Line in favor of an ill-conceived bus option that has no political support in either Montgomery or Prince George’s Counties. The town has committed $250,000 to derailing this critical transit project, with the Country Club dipping into its capital fund to fight the will of Montgomery and Prince George’s citizens. We are proud of the coalition we have built and appreciative of the support we have received from unions, major environmental groups, businesses, trail activists and communities along the path of the Purple Line. This is the kind of broad coalition that built the metrorail system, and that is required to get us our of the current transportation mess. While opponent have demonstrated the ability to stall this project for two decades, with your help we can ensure that the people of Maryland take the right path towards environmentally sound solutions to our transportation problems by embracing a light rail Purple Line. Please support us now at this critical time: attend one of the open houses and provide positive feedback to MTA. contact the Governor, your legislators and county representatives to reiterate your support for the Purple Line. support us financially and by volunteering to help work for a future transit -oriented Maryland. Meeting Schedule: All these meetings are from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. except May 21st. Thursday, May 8th: College Park City Hall, 4500 Knox Road, College Park, MD 20740 May 12th (Monday): MTA Open House - West Lanham Hills, Recreation Center, 7700 Decatur Road, Landover Hills, MD 20784 May 14th (Wednesday): MTA Open House - East Silver Spring, Elementary School, 631 Silver Spring Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20910 May 15th (Thursday): MTA Open House - Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School Cafeteria, 4301 East-West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814 May 21st (Wednesday): 4 to 6:30pm: MTA Open House - Langley Park Community Center, 1500 Merrimac Drive, Langley Park, MD 20783

68,000 riders each weekday is huge! Counting down to completion of Purple Line DEIS; Latest news: Latest News; How you can help See: Calendar of Events. 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