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

• A Purple Line Trail Walk in the Woodside Community
• Mark Your Calendar for the Next Purple Line Forum: April 15!
• Purple Line NOW Matching Campaign Has Reached Its Goal!

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CONSTRUCTION NEWS TO KNOW

Before we get to the Purple Line walk in the Woodside community, we wanted to share two terrific pictures of the newly installed Capital Crescent Trail Bridge, viewed from the east side of the Silver Spring metro (crossing Colesville Road.)

Photo Courtesy of Webb Smedley

Photo Courtesy of Webb Smedley

We hope these two photos help you envision a time, in just a few short years, when trains and trail are a reality!

A Purple Line Trail Walk in the Woodside Community

On Thursday, December 19, twenty residents of the Woodside community set out on a trail walk led by Purple Line Transit Constructors Sr. Manager for Public Affairs/Community Outreach, Carla Julian, and Structural Engineer, Mark Edsall.

The walk was set up because residents in this particular community wanted more information about how the Capital Crescent Trail (CCT) would fit into the edge of the community, where access points would be, and how the community would be shielded/landscaped from the trail, CSX trains and the Purple Line, since the train-bordering trees and shrubs have now been removed.

Barbara Sanders, a member of both the Woodside/Lyttonsville Community Advisory Team (CAT) and Purple Line NOW Executive Committee, set up the trail walk with the outreach coordinator for the project after the community was told the existing natural barriers were to be removed in the fall.

The walk began with a short meeting at the home of Barbara Sanders on Noyes Lane to review general information about the project and get everyone up to speed:

• The Purple Line is expected to open from New Carrollton to College Park in late 2022, with the complete line to Bethesda opening by mid-2023.
• The Capital Crescent Trail is being built by PLTP, but is funded by Montgomery County. It is on the same mid-2023 completion timetable. However, you may remember at Purple Line NOW’s July 2019 forum, Peter van der Waart, (CEO of the Purple Line Transit Partners) announced that they were working on a way to open the trail sooner. Mr. van der Waart emphasized that there were no promises, but, if an early opening does happen, the trail may need to close temporarily while final trial and testing is completed.
• Details for the trail alignment in Woodside are shown below in Figure 1 (north section), Figure 2 (center section), and Figure 3 (south section). More details can be provided to interested residents.

Fig 1 (North Section)

Fig 2 (Center Section)

Fig 3 (South Section)

• The Spring Street bridge needs to be demolished and rebuilt with more space below it on the west end near 15th Street for the two tracks of the Purple Line. This work must be completed while maintaining CSX, Metro, and MARC train operations. Tree removal and soil removal has been underway for months. The bridge closure is tentatively scheduled for March 2020 and will last about 7 months. There will be a 30-day construction advisory before closure. Detours of traffic and rerouting of buses are all scheduled to be around the Woodside neighborhood, without changes to First and Second Avenue rush hour restrictions.
• The Capital Crescent Trail tree cutting work is underway. All trees will be removed in the path of the trail between Noyes Lane and Spring Street. Work on the new trail is expected to begin in Woodside in late spring 2020, but completion is not required by contract until 2023.
• The trail work will start with utility work from Spring Street to South Springwood Drive and will include storm drain work, the relocation of water and sewer lines, and a possible new fire hydrant near the end of Ballard Street extended.
• The trail will generally be asphalt and 12-feet-wide, except in some constricted areas where the width will be reduced to 10 feet. There will be a divider separating the trail from the CSX right of way with precast concrete at the bottom and open fencing at the top.
• The trail varies in its relation to the existing grade of Third Avenue in order to meet ADA requirements. A similar treatment of concrete with fencing will be used on the Third Avenue section when necessary for safe passage of trail users. 
• There will be access from the 16th Street bridge by stairs to the trail and to a point on 3rd Avenue between the west end of Noyes Lane and the west end of Noyes Drive. An ADA compliant ramp will also connect the sidewalk at the north end of the bridge to the trail. This will cross the stairway at a landing platform. There should be places for access when the trail is adjacent to Third Avenue, beyond the Noyes Lane connection. These connections are shown on Figure 4, below.

Fig 4

The group raised a few issues that will likely require negotiation with the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) over the Purple Line contract provisions, and coordination for assistance with the Montgomery County Executive, Council, and Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT). Some of those issues included ways to speed the completion of the trail in this area where the path is not adjacent to the light rail construction and significant screening has been removed. Another major issue was inclusion of neighborhood sidewalk and bike path connections to both the CCT and the Purple Line station.

There are more detailed plans available on the Purple Line MD website and residents are encouraged to sign up for weekly construction notices to any area of the Purple Line Right-of-Way (ROW) to be made aware of significant projects.

PURPLE LINE NOW NEWS AND EVENTS

We have a date for the next Purple Line NOW forum! Mark your calendar in ink for Getting Ready for the First Purple Line Ride! on April 15, from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm at Montgomery College. You will be able to reserve your seat soon, so stay tuned for more details on this educational and interesting evening for both Montgomery and Prince George's counties. Remember, our forums are always free and open to the public and press, but because of space limitations, we ask that you reserve your seat in advance. We'll be sending out an invitation soon, so keep your eye out for it.

PURPLE LINE NOW ACTION

Can You Help Purple Line NOW Continue Its Work?

We are thrilled to announce that we reached the $5,000 threshold for matching donations last week! We are so thankful to each and every one of you who gave for the first time, continued your long history of giving, or answered our call when a generous matching benefactor reached out to us.

Purple Line NOW still needs your donations during the year and we appreciate every penny donated. If you would like to make a donation, you can do so by clicking on the black donate button below. Thank you!

We are grateful for ALL of our donors - thank you, thank you, for stepping up to help Purple Line NOW continue its work!

FEATURED DONORS: 
The Chevy Chase Land Company, The Malloy and Sanders Family, Tina, Don, and Jessie Slater

SUPPORTING DONORS:
John Carroll, Nancy and Rob Soreng, Eric Talbot

ENGINEERS:
Anne Ambler and John Fay, ATU Local 689, Ralph Bennett, Steven Hurtt, Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce, John Robinson

CONDUCTORS:
Nick Brand, Bee and Brian Ditzler, Landmark Realty, Inc., Mary Lanigan, Ben Ross, Christine Scott and JohnR Llewellyn

COMMUTERS:
Elizabeth Barbehenn, Tyler Christensen, Sean Dobson, Jonathan Elkind, Elaine Emling, Joseph Fainberg, John Fay, Andrew Fellows, Neil Greene, William Holleran, Melanie Isis, Rhonda Long, Greg Madden, Anita Morrison, Mark Posner, Gareth Rosenau, Frederick Schultz, Shirley Storms, Jerry Withers, College Park Mayor Patrick Wojahn

PASSENGERS:
Charles Bell, Merrie Blocker, Steve Brigham, Kris Colby, Miti Figueredo, Nick Finio, Alexandra Knox, Daniel Marcin, Mark Mesiti-Miller, Judith Morenoff, Tom Pogue, Martin Posthumus, John Undeland, Julie Zavala

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