"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


BUILD IT!
Newsletter of Purple Line NOW!
November 2007

In this issue:
  1. SPECIAL LEGISLATIVE SESSION FALLS SHORT ON TRANSIT DOLLARS
  2. UMD STUDENTS QUESTION CAMPUS’ COMMITMENT TO TRANSIT
  3. UPCOMING EVENTS
  4. SHORT RIDES
  5. THIS NEWSLETTER
1) SPECIAL LEGISLATIVE SESSION ADDRESSES DEFICIT: FALLS SHORT ON TRANSIT DOLLARS

Late Sunday evening Nov. 18th, the Maryland General Assembly passed a revenue bill which fixed the state's structural deficit and included a significant increase in transportation funding. The bill dedicates 6.5% of the total sales tax collected to transportation; when added to the automobile titling tax increase (5 to 6%) the result is a total of $400 to450 million per year of additional transportation funding. This is $50 million dollars more than the increase proposed in the Governor's package at the start of the special session, but well below the $600 million figure needed to make a dent in Maryland's transportation infrastructure deficit.

During the special session, Governor O'Malley called in MDOT Secretary John Porcari to assure Montgomery County delegates that a portion of the additional transportation funding portion would go to WMATA, the Purple Line, and Corridor Cities Transitway. Delegate Heather Mizeur (D-20) referenced this commitment from the House floor in her support for the bill. The House version of the bill actually requires an MDOT report by February 1st on what new funding there will be. It may not be until then that we learn whether the Purple Line will gain preliminary engineering and some construction funding to enable the project to maintain its current momentum.

2) UMD STUDENTS RAISE QUESTIONS ABOUT CAMPUS COMMITMENT TO TRANSIT

University of Maryland students have been sparring with the College Park campus administration about the proposed routing of the Purple Line through campus. University President Mote restated the campus’ strong support for the project, but has requested that the State develop alternatives avoiding use of the central segment of Campus Drive. The Graduate Student Government Association passed a resolution last week supporting MTA’s recommended routing along Campus Drive.

See: Rethink College Park for a summary of the debate and links to pertinent documents.

3) UPCOMING EVENTS

The Maryland Transit Administration will be holding 5 important open houses in December. Ridership data is expected to be presented at these milestone events:

  1. Dec. 3: (5-8 pm) MTA Open House East Silver Spring Elem School 631 Silver Spring Avenue
  2. Dec. 5: (5-8 pm) MTA Open House – College Park City Hall 4500 Knox Rd. College Park, MD 20740
  3. Dec. 10: (5-8pm) MTA Open House Langley Park Community Ctr. 1500 Merrimac Dr. Hyattsville MD 20783
  4. Dec. 12: (5-8pm) MTA Open House – Bethesda-Chevy Chase H.S. Cafeteria 4301 East-West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814
  5. Dec. 13: (5-8pm) MTA Open House - West Lanham Hills Recreation Center 7700 Decatur Rd. Landover Hills, MD 20784

4) SHORT RIDES
LOCAL RESIDENTS VISIT PORTLAND STREETCAR
DC Residents went to Portland to learn see the city’s streetcar for themselves. The video of their visit includes interviews with DC residents, councilmembers, and transportation representatives, and Portland State U. students.
http://www.octt.dc.gov/services/on_demand_video/special/misc/DDOT_Portland_Streetcar.asx

STREETCARS RETURN TO ST CHARLES ST IN NEW ORLEANS
New Orleans residents and visitors greeted test runs with smiles as streetcar service returned to St. Charles Street. The service had been interrupted for two years by the devastation of hurricane Katrina. Full service on the corridor was restored on Nov. 10th.

CHARLOTTE LIGHT RAIL OPENING NEXT WEEK
Charlotte’s first light rail is opening on November 24th. Construction on the light rail system began in February 2005, and the line extends 9.6 miles and has 15 stations. Siemens vehicles are used on the line, which were projected to cost $427 million or $44 million/mile.

5) 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 representatives of business, labor, environmental and community organizations to promote a light rail transit line connecting Bethesda, Silver Spring, Long Branch, Takoma/ Langley Crossroads, College Park and the University of Maryland, 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.
  1. Corrections and comments may be sent to the editor, Colleen Mitchell at: colleenmitch@gmail.com.
  2. Opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect specific positions of the CBIPL.
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