In today's edition of Purple Line NOW News, here's what you'll find:

• What's Happening at PLN?
  • Are You a Purple Line NOW Donor?
• Happening Along the Purple Line Corridor
  
  • Community Advisory Team Meetings
  • Purple Line NOW Testimony to Montgomery County Planning Board
• Construction Updates and Project Features
  
  • Montgomery County Transportation & Environment Briefing on the Purple Line
  • Photos From Around the Corridor

Share This Newsletter

Please feel free to share this newsletter - no permission from us needed! You can always find a link to our newsletter on our Purple Line NOW website which makes it easy to share with your friends, neighbors, constituents, customers, and employees.

WHAT'S HAPPENING AT PLN?

Are You a Purple Line NOW Donor?

We are so appreciative of each and every dollar that comes to us by way of a donation. We are a nonprofit organization that relies on donors to continue its mission and we cannot exist without your generosity each and every year. Your donation will be noted on our website and in all printed materials and at all events for a year following your contribution to Purple Line NOW. Curious as to when you last made a donation to us? You can check out our website or shoot us an email. If you don't see your name listed, we hope you will consider donating to our organization when you are able. Thank you, thank you.

HAPPENING ALONG THE PURPLE LINE CORRIDOR

Community Advisory Team Meetings

In late winter, the Community Advisory Team meetings were held and those presentations can be viewed online. Some of the questions and answers for those meetings have recently been posted, as well, for their respective stations:

Bethesda Chevy Chase Station

Silver Spring (includes SS Transit Center, SS Library, and Dale Drive Stations)

Long Branch (includes Manchester Place, Long Branch and Piney Branch Road Stations)

University Boulevard (includes Takoma/Langley Transit Center and Riggs Road Stations)

College Park (includes Adelphi Rd.-UMGC-UMD, Campus Drive UMD, Balt. Ave-College Park-UMD, College Park Metro, and Riverdale North-UMD stations)

Riverdale Park (includes Riverdale Park/Kenilworth Ave. and Beacon Heights/East Pines stations)

Glenridge (includes Glenridge and New Carrollton Metro stations)

We will post the links for the remaining CAT Q&As when they are available.

Purple Line NOW Testimony to Montgomery County Planning Board

Purple Line NOW gave oral and written testimony earlier this month to Montgomery County Planning Board at the Pedestrian Master Plan Public Hearing. You can read our testimony here.

CONSTRUCTION UPDATES & PROJECT FEATURES

Montgomery County Transportation & Environment Briefing on the Purple Line

On March 20, 2023, the three members of the Montgomery County Council Transportation & Environment Committee (Councilmembers Evan Glass, Marilyn Balcombe, and Kate Stewart) were briefed on the status of the project by members of the Purple Line team, Hugo Fontirroig, Deputy Project Director for Maryland Transit Solutions, Doran Bosso, Chief Executive Officer for PLTP, and Matthew Pollack, Purple Line Executive Director, Maryland Transit Administration.

You can watch the entire presentation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoz9Pqs1dmU

Mr. Pollack gave a brief overview of the status of the project, noting the benefits of east/west transit across two counties that the project will provide, “giving us transit development as well as economic development.”

Construction began ramping up last fall, and now, as of January 2023, everywhere along the alignment.

The timeline, for now, remains the same, with passenger service scheduled to begin late 2026, though there are still issues that could impact the schedule. They have formed a “Tiger Team” of experts who have been meeting since last October to look at any mitigating issues and work through issues as they arise. Mr. Pollack did say however, that there are no guarantees at this point that revenue service will not be “pushed out into the future.”

Twenty-six of the 28 vehicles are already built and ready to ship. They are scheduled for delivery fall 2023, but will likely arrive in early 2024.

The test track will need to be in place before their delivery -- the track will be a slightly less than one mile stretch along Veteran’s Highway which will feed into storage tracks and will not cross over any roads. After their delivery, both vehicle testing and operator testing will need to take place which will take a little over a year, at which time, the hope is to have all of the tracks laid, end-to-end, so that real time testing can begin soon after.

The cars will be the largest single-rail vehicles in the country when they are put into service, and each will hold a total capacity of 400 with 80 seats, and have flexible space with folding seats for bicycles and wheelchairs, along with low floors and wide doorways.

While they are being stored in Elmira, New York, they are getting “exercised” regularly as well as maintained.

The team then turned their attention to giving various updates for specific stations along the corridor, noting that construction is now visible from nearly every position on the route. Updates were given for the Bethesda station, the Connecticut Avenue station, Talbot Avenue, Silver Spring and Library stations, Georgia Avenue and Bonifant streets, Wayne Avenue, Sligo Creek Trail, and Plymouth Tunnel.

The Councilmembers each asked a series of questions, with Chair Glass thanking the committee for their dedication to listening to the community and committing resources where issues arise. He was especially appreciative of the attention to pedestrian safety.

Councilmember Stewart noted the dangerous road conditions along University Boulevard near Campus and asked the team to take a second look at ways to make the roads there safer during construction.

Councilmember Balcombe asked for more signage and way-making help.

Photos From Around the Corridor

Talbot Avenue Bridge
Photo credit: Barbara Sanders and Donna Nelson

Talbot Avenue Bridge
Photo credit: Barbara Sanders and Donna Nelson

Photo Courtesy: MDOT MTA

Photo Courtesy: MDOT MTA

0	STAY CONNECTED

Get Connected

Make sure you are signed up for timely alerts from Purple Line NOW via our Twitter and Facebook pages, and at our website Purple Line NOW.

In today's edition of Purple Line NOW News, here's what you'll find:

• What's Happening at PLN?
  • MDOT MTA Purple Line Team Visits Purple Line NOW
  • A Big Thank You to Our Donors!
• Happening Along the Purple Line Corridor
  
  • Community Advisory Team Meetings
• Construction Updates and Project Features
  
  • Brief CAT Overview
  • Photos From Around the Corridor

Share This Newsletter

Please feel free to share this newsletter - no permission from us needed! You can always find a link to our newsletter on our Purple Line NOW website which makes it easy to share with your friends, neighbors, constituents, customers, and employees.

WHAT'S HAPPENING AT PLN?

MDOT MTA Team Visits Purple Line NOW

We were delighted to host members of the MDOT MTA Team at our January Quarterly Board meeting and to hear a thorough status update about the project straight from the folks who are in charge and grateful for the answers they provided to our (many) questions!

Photo Courtesy: MDOT MTA

A Big Thank You to Our Donors!

We want to take a moment to highlight all of our donors in this issue -- many of these generous folks have supported us annually for many years and some are new to Purple Line NOW. We are grateful for each and every one.

If you do not see your name on the following list, please let us know! Following a donation, with your permission, we list you on our website and in all event literature for a year following your gift.

Because we operate year round and our budget is tiny, if you have not had a chance to make a donation or renew one from last year, we would be grateful for your consideration. You can click the PURPLE button below to easily make an online donation.

Thank you to all of our donors -- we would not exist without your generosity!

FEATURED DONORS
Chevy Chase Land Company
THE MALLOY AND SANDERS FAMILY

SUPPORTING DONORS
Tina, Don, and Jessie Slater
Eric Talbot

ENGINEERS
The Greater Bethesda Chamber of Commerce
Isiah Leggett
John Robinson
Nancy and Rob Soreng

CONDUCTORS
Ashlie Bagwell
Mary Lanigan
Christine Scott and JohnR Llewellyn

COMMUTERS
John Carroll, Jeff Cronin, Mike DeLong, Gary Fahle, Andrew Fellows, Peter Gray, Gerrit Knaap, Jodie Kulpa-Eddy, Dan Marcin, Anita Morrison, David Murnan, Ray Nosbaum, Andrew Scott, Webb Smedley, William Strang, 

PASSENGERS
Tsedal Bahta, Margaret Chasson, Teena Curry, Patrick Dougherty, Elaine Emling and Michael Jenner, Jose Galdamez, John Hoyt, Geneva Jones, Ronald Wange, Jerry Withers

HAPPENING ALONG THE PURPLE LINE CORRIDOR

Community Advisory Team Meetings

The recent round of Community Advisory Team Meetings (CATs), which began February 2, have concluded. Please see a brief overview of the meetings below and make sure to check the MDOT MTA website for more information.

CONSTRUCTION UPDATES & PROJECT FEATURES

Community Advisory Teams Overview

The CAT Team meetings have concluded for the Winter/Spring. Each meeting's presentation is posted on MDOT MTA website shortly after the meeting. As of this morning, except for Greater Lyttonsville/Woodside -- which was just held and should be up shortly -- all were posted, so be sure to visit your CAT's presentation to learn the latest about what is happening in your corner of the corridor as it pertains to Purple Line work. The renderings for many of the stations are incredible!

These meetings are specific to communities along the right-of-way, but following each meeting, as we noted, the presentations will be posted for anyone interested to view. We will let you know when the Q&A portion of the meetings are posted. 

The meetings last month began with an update on the project schedule. Maryland has acknowledged the schedule risk described by the analysts working for the concessionaire, reported by the Washington Post last month. Such risk is not uncommon in projects that operated in dense areas the size and complexity of the Purple Line. Maryland and the concessionaire are meeting regularly to find ways to address challenges, a process to bring together key personnel on both sides called "Tiger" teams. 

For example, Matt Pollack, Executive Director for the Purple Line team at the state reported that these teams were working to overcome problems by finding maintenance of traffic approaches that allowed for more utility relocation work to be conducted in parallel. However, the larger collaborative process has not yet produced a revised schedule estimate.

The good news is that the presenters were also able to report visible signs of progress for the line, including:

• Work progressed on five bridges, including light rail and Capital Crescent Trail (CCT) crossing of Connecticut Avenue.
• Opened the Sleaford underpass in Chevy Chase.
• Opened the reconfigured bus loop at the College Park-UMD Station.
• Began construction of four stations: Glenridge, Riverdale Park North-UMD, Silver Spring Library, and Silver Spring.
• Completed production of 26 of 28 light rail vehicles.

Each CAT meeting also gave a detailed summary of upcoming work around each respective part of the track. An important request: If you see inappropriate obstruction of sidewalks, violations of the  American with Disability Act, or blocked driveways that are not part of the official construction efforts, please send a picture to MTA which will "starts the clock" on their response efforts. The concessionaire is graded and has financial incentives based on how quickly they respond to fix any such incidents.

Photos From Around the Corridor

These photos come from a reader and taken from the rooftop of 8401 Connecticut. Progress!

STAY CONNECTED

Get Connected

Make sure you are signed up for timely alerts from Purple Line NOW via our Twitter and Facebook pages, and at our website Purple Line NOW.

In today's edition of Purple Line NOW News, here's what you'll find:

• What's Happening at PLN?
  • Thank you!
• Happening Along the Purple Line Corridor
  
  • Community Advisory Team Meetings Begin This Month
• Construction Updates and Project Features
  • Project Delay Announcement
  • Bridge Over Purple Line Trail Installed

Share This Newsletter

Please feel free to share this newsletter - no permission from us needed! You can always find a link to our newsletter on our Purple Line NOW website which makes it easy to share with your friends, neighbors, constituents, customers, and employees.

WHAT'S HAPPENING AT PLN?

Thank YOU!

Thank you again to all who donated during our recent matching campaign. With the matching gift from our anonymous donor, we were able to raise $5,950! Our treasurer Tina Slater is grateful the funding from this campaign will see us through the winter months and into the spring.

Because we operate year round and our budget is tiny, even though the matching campaign has ended, if you have not had a chance to make a donation or renew one from last year, we would be grateful for your consideration. You can click the PURPLE button below to easily make an online donation.

Please take a moment to see our AWESOME and GENEROUS donors, listed at this link on our website. Thank you, thank you!

 We are grateful for all the support we receive, financial and otherwise. 

HAPPENING ALONG THE PURPLE LINE CORRIDOR

Community Advisory Team Meetings Set for February

The Community Advisory Team Meetings (CATs) begin tomorrow, February 2. You can find more information on the MDOT MTA website closer to each meeting.

February 2, University Boulevard, 6 pm

February 7, Bethesda/Chevy Chase, 6 pm

February 9, Silver Spring, 6 pm

February 16, College Park, 6 pm

February 21, Long Branch, 6 pm

February 23, Riverdale Park - Glenridge/New Carrollton, 6 pm

February 28, Greater Lyttonsville/Woodbridge, 6 pm

CONSTRUCTION UPDATES & PROJECT FEATURES

Project Delay Announcement

As you may have already heard, an analysis conducted on behalf of the concessionaire was publicly reported last month and foretells yet another delay for the project, this one will extend the ribbon-cutting date about seven months into early 2027.

A recent editorial in the Washington Post cites the continued importance of getting to the finish line, “The regional imperatives behind the Purple Line, meanwhile, are as robust as ever. Del. Marc Korman, a Democrat who represents a Montgomery County district, says a majority of commuters in the county move within the suburb or among the suburbs. Which is to say, the suburbanization of transit needs to accompany the suburbanization of work in the region.” (“The Purple Line is in the news again.” Washington Post, 27 January 2023.)

From our perspective, the good news is that the state and contractor are working together through these challenges and avoiding the finger-pointing of past hurdles. The official schedule has not yet been revised and the new contract has a range of mechanisms to allow for problem-solving-oriented discussions early and often. A drive along the corridor shows long-awaited visible signs of progress after a year and a half of delay and languish.

However, timely completion is important both to achieve the benefits of the Purple Line and to minimize the period of disruption. This makes it critical that Maryland works to become a leader in implementing transit, especially in light of the poor showing that transit project construction is experiencing across the nation. The Washington Post editorial illustrates ideas for ways to do this from Eric Goldwyn, Program Director for Transportation and Land Use and an Assistant Professor at New York University’s Marron Institute. Dr. Goldwyn cites examples where projects have succeeded abroad and several possible steps to improve outcomes.

This is important for Maryland’s newly elected Governor Wes Moore's agenda, which includes completing the Purple Line along with new transit initiatives for Baltimore. The Governor and Legislature not only have an important oversight responsibility, but also have a precious chance to be proactive and use the remaining years of Purple Line construction efficiently and, if successful, can act as a foundation for better projects going forward.

Trail Bridge Over Purple Line Trail Installed

One of the most visible signs of progress occurred last month when the multi-use pedestrian bridge over Connecticut Avenue was installed. According to the Purple Line Team, the 190k-pound structure was placed at 3 a.m. while most people slept! Not to worry, John Wetmore provides this ultra cool time-lapse video on his YouTube channel.

STAY CONNECTED

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Make sure you are signed up for timely alerts from Purple Line NOW via our Twitter and Facebook pages, and at our website Purple Line NOW.

Happy New Year!

In today's edition of Purple Line NOW News, here's what you'll find:

• What's Happening at PLN?
  • Thank you!
  • The TOP TEN LIST is HERE!
• Purple Line in the News
• Happening Along the Purple Line Corridor
  
  • Community Advisory Team Meetings Set for February

Share This Newsletter

Please feel free to share this newsletter - no permission from us needed! You can always find a link to our newsletter on our Purple Line NOW website which makes it easy to share with your friends, neighbors, constituents, customers, and employees.

WHAT'S HAPPENING AT PLN?

Thank YOU!

A quick update to thank everyone who took a moment to send a donation during our matching campaign which has now ended. As you know, a generous donor (who wishes to remain anonymous) offered to match all donations from non-PLN board members until we reached $5,000 or until the end of the year!

Because we operate year round and our budget is tiny, even though the matching campaign has ended, if you have not had a chance to make a donation or renew one from last year, we would be grateful for your consideration. You can click the PURPLE button below to easily make an online donation.

We will have a full report of where we are on our fundraising efforts in the next newsletter. Don't forget, unless a donor wishes to remain anonymous, all our donors are listed on our website. We are grateful for all the support we receive, financial and otherwise. 

The Top Ten List is HERE!

Each new year, our Purple Line NOW team gets together to come up with the top ten biggest Purple Line happenings of the past year. Here is our list for 2022, a year of progress after a long period of delays and frustration. Do you agree with our list?!

10) Housing at Chevy Chase Library Site -- The Montgomery County Council voted unanimously for an amendment calling for housing at the redesigned Chevy Chase Library, which happens to be very close to the new Purple Line station. According to an article in Bethesda Magazine, while the bill doesn’t guarantee housing at the site, it does “allow for the possibility of redevelopment of the Chevy Chase library, including housing on the site.” How many units might be included or under what price points the housing will fall has yet to be determined. (Bohnel, S., “County Council says it supports housing at Chevy Chase Library site.” Bethesda Magazine, 12 May 2022.)

9) Report on The Purple Line Equitable Transit-Oriented Development Strategy -- The Purple Line Equitable Transit-Oriented Development Strategy is the product of a two-year planning process funded by a transit-oriented development planning grant from the Federal Transit Administration. The report includes strategies for affordable housing, small business preservation, safe pedestrian/bicycle access to stations, and inclusive economic growth. On September 28th, 2022 the final report was released at a public event at the Brigadier General Charles E. McGee Library in downtown Silver Spring. 

8) Maryland Secretary of Transportation Greg Slater Leaves Post -- In January, we said goodbye to Greg Slater and hello to our new Secretary of Transportation, James F. Ports, Jr. We are grateful for Secretary Slater’s steady hand during a tumultuous time for the Purple Line project. His hard work and public dedication helped steer the team through the loss of the previous builder and ultimately naming the new builder. Many of you may remember his willingness to show up when asked to answer tough questions, as he did for our forum last year.

7) Sleaford Tunnel Opens -- October brought treats in the form of the opening of the Sleaford Road underpass and pathway opening to the public. This is a popular bicycle and ped route for people in the neighborhood to access nearby Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School.

6) New Builder Sets Tentative Opening Date -- In January of 2022, with the signing of the new builder came a newly projected opening date of Fall 2026. With construction finally resuming, the target date was welcome news.

5) Labor Organization and Concessionaire reach settlement – Early this fall, the contractor and the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) reached an agreement, paving the way for crews to ramp up construction between now and the end of October. We were happy that both parties were able to negotiate a reasonable outcome so the project could move forward.

4) Approval by Board of Public Works and Reaching Financial Close with New Builder -- The final piece to officially approve the new builder -- after all the interviews, meet and greets, discovery, and research -- was gaining the approval of the Board of Public Works which happened in January 2022. In July, it was announced that financial close was reached with the new builder, the last bit in the long process of bringing on board the new entity, Maryland Transit Solutions.

3) Maryland Wins Grant for Development Near Purple Line -- Maryland was awarded a $1.5 million federal grant for development in and around the Purple Line corridor. According to the Washington Post, "The money from the Federal Transit Administration is to be used to plan for mixed-use development, the preservation of existing retail, affordable housing and access for cyclists and pedestrians along the 16-mile line that will connect Montgomery and Prince George’s counties." 

2) Approval for $1.7 billion TIFIA Loan -- In March, Maryland’s 16.2-mile Purple Line project was approved for a $1.7 billion Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan through the Build America Bureau. The project had previously been approved for a $874.6 million TIFIA loan in 2016; this loan replaces and restructures the previous loan.

1) Major construction resumes -- All the top stories that made our list were impactful to the future of the project, but none more so than when construction finally resumed earlier last fall along the corridor after a long two-year slow-down. Nothing beats seeing crews out along the future path of the light rail!

In reality, many of these happenings were interlocking, making it difficult to rank impact or importance. And, because it is a Top Ten List, we had to focus with so many stories from which to choose!

For example, we were delighted to read the support Maryland's newly elected governor, Wes Moore, has for the possibility of a future Red Line in Baltimore. Perhaps a ground-breaking for a future Red Line will make the Top Ten list one day soon! And, who could forget the Purple Line making an appearance on Google Maps?! Perhaps we'll save some of the others for an "Honorable Mentions" edition of the Purple Line NOW News.

Finally, we would be remiss if we didn’t mention the parting of some long-time Purple Line advocates. NCSG Director Dr. Gerrit Knaap announced his official retirement at a December celebration hosted by the Purple Line Corridor Coalition. Montgomery Councilmember Hans Reimer and Prince George's Councilmember Dannielle Glaros, whose advocacy helped to steer the project through some tough times during their tenure on their respective councils, will be sorely missed. We also want to remember three dedicated supporters of the project who passed away in 2022, notably Linda Anderson, Tawanna Gaines, and Neil Greene. They are missed by all of us here at Purple Line NOW.

And with that, we wrap up 2022 and look forward to a new year fill with progress and potential as we move closer to opening day. Thank you again for all you do for our community. Happy New Year!

HAPPENING ALONG THE PURPLE LINE CORRIDOR

Community Advisory Team Meetings Set for February

The Community Advisory Team Meetings (CATs) have been rescheduled for February. You can find more information on the MDOT MTA website closer to each meeting.

February 2, University Boulevard, 6 pm

February 7, Bethesda/Chevy Chase, 6 pm

February 9, Silver Spring, 6 pm

February 16, College Park, 6 pm

February 21, Long Branch, 6 pm

February 23, Riverdale Park - Glenridge/New Carrollton, 6 pm

February 28, Greater Lyttonsville/Woodside, 6 pm

STAY CONNECTED

Get Connected

Make sure you are signed up for timely alerts from Purple Line NOW via our Twitter and Facebook pages, and at our website Purple Line NOW.