"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

Dear Terrapin Club Members, Recently, the State of Maryland Transit Administration announced their intention to pursue the creation of a light rail line that would run from Bethesda to New Carrolton. The proposed "Purple Line" would run through areas in Montgomery County and Prince Georges County, including through the University of Maryland campus. An Open Meeting was held on October 29th in College Park to initiate discussion with community leaders and members of the College Park community and surrounding areas. A number of us attended the meeting. We wanted to update you on the project, the current position of the Athletic Department and the Terrapin Club and how to receive further information on the project. The project is in its initial phases and the Maryland Transit Authority is still gathering important environmental impact information, as well as information on traffic patterns in the affected areas. Maryland Athletics and the Terrapin Club leadership support the Purple Line on campus. The line will provide access for thousands of fans to come to athletics events, including football, men's and women's basketball and our 24 other varsity sports. Connecting Montgomery County to College Park will provide a number of our most loyal fans from Bethesda, Silver Spring and other nearby areas with direct and easy access to athletic events, reducing dependence on automobiles and thus reducing traffic on game days. THAT SAID, WE ARE NOT IN FAVOR OF A CAMPUS DRIVE ALIGNMENT FOR THE PURPLE LINE, AS CURRENTLY RECOMMENDED BY THE STATE HIGHWAY ADMINSTRATION, FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS: 1.We are concerned that the Campus Drive alignment would negatively impact the essential physical character of our campus, forever damaging the aesthetic beauty of the University of Maryland. 2.A Campus Drive alignment will mean the loss of hundreds of Terrapin Club parking spaces for home football games. Maryland Athletics is a self-supported campus unit. We also pay the campus several million dollars in annual overhead and taxes. Parking benefits for fans constitute a vital element of our ability to achieve our fundraising requirements. The loss of these parking spaces will damage our ability to remain self-sufficient and to continue to pay the subsidies to the University. 3.Aligning the light rail tracks through Lot 1 will force tens of thousands of football fans to cross the tracks on their way to the football stadium, creating a significant safety concern for our fans, many of whom are families with young children. The light rail will stop every 3 minutes in peak hours and in non-peak hours, every 6 minutes. Maryland Athletics and the Terrapin Club support either a Stadium Drive (North) alignment or Mowatt Lane (South) alignment for the Purple Line, for the following reasons: 1.A Stadium Drive or Mowatt Lane alignment would preserve the beauty of the campus we are all so proud of and would serve the student and faculty community for the entire campus. 2.Secondly, there would be minimal impact on parking spaces allocated for Terrapin Club members on football game days in either alignment. 3.A station positioned at the corner of Stadium Drive and Regents Drive would be ideal to ease traffic for home basketball games at Comcast Center. With such proximity to Comcast Center, the Purple Line would be easily accessible to the center of campus and would provide basketball fans with a reasonable transportation alternative to automobiles. 4.And finally, a more southern route at Mowatt Lane would increase accessibility to campus and would better accommodate the merchants in the heart of College Park. In summation, Maryland Athletics and the Terrapin Club members support the Purple Line on campus with a Stadium Drive or Mowatt Lane alignment. Either is a better possible solution to ensure the beauty of our campus, fiscal stability for Maryland Athletics, and overall fan safety. The Maryland Transit Administration plans to hold several informational meetings in the impacted areas. The next meeting for the College Park area will be held on Wednesday, December 5, 2007 from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm at the College Park Municipal Center at 4500 Knox Road. At the meeting held on October 29, Mr. Michael D. Madden, Project Manager, Office of Planning for the Maryland Transit Authority, agreed for people to contact him if they had any questions or concerns about the light rail being placed on Campus Drive. He can be contacted at (410) 767-3694 or by email at mmadden@mtamaryland.com . We will continue to monitor the situation and inform you about this very important initiative. If you have any questions for us, please contact the Terrapin Club Office at (301) 314-7020 or email Greg at genloe@umd.edu . Go Terps! Sincerely, Greg Enloe Executive Director, Terrapin Club 301/314-7020 genloe@umd.edu Mary Pratt-Henaghan President, Terrapin Club Board of Directors

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