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

• A Reminder to Reserve Your Seat for the Next Purple Line NOW Forum - Completing the Capital Crescent Trail!
• A Wrap-Up of the Silver Spring and University Boulevard Community Advisory Team Meetings (CATs)
• Become a Sponsor of Purple Line NOW - All Levels Welcome!

Reserve Your Seat for the Next Purple Line NOW Forum

When:  Thursday, July 25, 2019 from 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm

Where: Lawton Community Center in Chevy Chase, 4301 Willow Lane, Chevy Chase, MD 20815

How:   RESERVE MY SEAT! Your Seat Must Be Reserved in Advance

We are working on a terrific panel for you. By the number of seat reservations rolling in, this promises to be a jam-packed evening full of good information from Purple Line and Trail experts!

• The new CEO of the Purple Line Transit Partners, Peter van der Waart van Gulik
• Board Member of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association, Peter Gray
• Montgomery County At-Large Councilmember, Hans Riemer
• Montgomery County District 1 Councilmember, Andrew Friedson
• Montgomery County Planning Board Chair, Casey Anderson
• Representative from Montgomery County Department of Transportation

The event, as always, is free and open to the public, but seats must be reserved in advance due to space limitations – we have about 75 seats for both the public and the media and we are currently about two-thirds full. 

Please forward this email to anyone who may be interested in attending - trail users, community groups, and transit lovers alike! Please contact us at [email protected] with any questions.

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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.

CONSTRUCTION NEWS TO KNOW

Highlights from the Silver Spring Community Advisory Team Meeting

The most recent Silver Spring CAT meeting was held on June 11, 2019 at Silver Spring International Middle School.

The Purple Line Transit Partners (PLTP) team debuted their new website (which we profiled in the May 9, 2019 edition of the Purple Line NOW News). During the meeting, PLTP highlighted the very informative aerial maps of how the stations will fit into the surrounding roadways and trail, and the introduction of the art projects for the Transit Center, the Library, and the Dale Drive stations.

Image courtesy of Purple Line Transit Partners

Work will begin that will connect the Capital Crescent Trail and Purple Line to the Silver Spring Transit Center. Bonifant Street on both sides of Georgia will be essentially closed to vehicular traffic (other than delivery vehicles for the shops), though details will be worked out for service and parking garage access.

Utility work on Wayne Avenue and parking lot work at Silver Spring International Middle School will also continue this summer. Clearing will begin at the new Sligo Creek Bridge in the next six months or so.

One of the questions asked concerned the cutting of mature trees, most noticeable on the west side of Wayne Avenue, especially at the tunnel. Representatives from the concessionaire explained that for the required tree replacement, 48 acres of trees will be planted in outer Montgomery County and 13 acres will be replanted at various locations on the route.

Other questions:

• Will parking lot on south side of Bonifant remain accessible? Yes.
• When will track work be started? Six months at the soonest.
• Will buses along Wayne continue after the Purple Line is operational?  Yes. Eighty percent of people will arrive at Purple Line stations by walking, biking, or by bus and therefore likely will need buses to get folks to stations. Remember, Purple Line stations are farther apart, bus stations are closer together.

Highlights from the University Boulevard Community Advisory Team Meeting

The University Boulevard section of the CAT includes three stations, Takoma-Langley Transit Center on New Hampshire, Riggs Road, and Adelphi Road-UMUC (the Piney Branch Station is also on University Blvd, but falls under the Long Branch CAT). 

The CAT, held on May 29, covered a Planning Assistance to Municipalities and Communities (PAMC) grant to make streetscape improvements for pedestrians safety and comfort in the Northern Gateway CDC ( https://www.northerngatewaycdc.org/what-is-the-corridor ) which includes much of the International Corridor between New Hampshire and Adelphi. This serves an important "last mile" need because it extends beyond the area of the line to surrounding neighborhoods with the intention of adding signs to make it easier to accessibly find your way to transit.

Relatedly, during construction there is an "open for business" effort to help local restaurants, stores, and other workplaces stay visible in the community. Local businesses wishing to participate in the program should contact [email protected] or by phone 240-424-5325.

Image courtesy of Purple Line Transit Partners

Representatives on hand also reported on the art installations - an exciting aspect to the project! 

The Takoma-Langley station will have art fences on both sides of the station. It will depict a community in motion "through photographs of local individuals and families" made into "a large scale collage."

Image courtesy of Purple Line Transit Partners

The Riggs Road artwork is also focused on art fences, but will not rely on photos. Instead, there will be patterns and symbols in "bright uniform color" drawing inspiration from the diverse mix of cultures in the surrounding communities.

Image courtesy of Purple Line Transit Partners

Finally, the Adelphi Road-UMUC-UMD station has a theme of "global campus and growing minds" and depicts data associated with the University of Maryland University College, for example, the origins of their students. These panels of data visualization will be topped by "metal flag-like structures" above the station.

Image courtesy of Purple Line Transit Partners

Work on University boulevard has included median demolition, relocating utilities, reconstructing traffic signals, and upgrading drainage, which involved the closure of Guilford Road. Upcoming construction falls in similar categories and will include the replacement of the Northwest Branch Bridge over three phases across multiple years that will keep two lanes open in each direction during construction. The reconstructed bridge keeps sidewalks and bike lanes in mind, in addition to allowing rooms for cars and the Purple Line.

For those interested in the landscaping plans, click on this link to see what is in store: https://www.purplelinemd.com/construction/plans

* A reference to sidewalk widening on Bonifant which was included in our newsletter email was incorrect and has been deleted

PURPLE LINE NOW NEWS AND EVENTS

Next Forum: Completing the Capital Crescent Trail

Don't forget to reserve your seat for this informative evening (see above). This is the first time we will be focusing solely on the Capital Crescent Trail! And, we have a brilliant panel of experts to get us up to speed on what is currently happening on the trail and what we can expect down the road (or, in this case, trail...!)

Upcoming Community Advisory Teams

• June 19, 2019 (TONIGHT - WEDNESDAY!)
  Long Branch
  6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
  Oak View Elementary School (All Purpose Room)
  400 E. Wayne Avenue
  Silver Spring, MD 20901
  
  
• June 25, 2019
  Greater Lyttonsville/Woodside
  7 – 8:30 p.m.
  Rosemary Hills Elementary School
  2111 Porter Road (All Purpose Room)
  Silver Spring, MD 20910

PURPLE LINE NOW ACTION

Purple Line NOW Needs Your Sponsorship Today

Sponsorship is another way to help Purple Line NOW continue our efforts to bring you important Purple Line related news and information via our newsletters, outreach, and public events. Our organization has been around for a long time and is almost entirely run by dedicated volunteers. We don't hold big fundraisers and we do not receive underwriting grants from any source, government (local or otherwise), nor are we a membership organization (we do not ask for annual dues). We operate solely on donations from individuals and businesses who care about the Purple Line and whose generosity allow us to continue our work.

If you need more information before you push the donate button, we sent out a request a few weeks ago that will give you a good, in-depth idea of how hard we make your donations dollars work. Click here to read all about what we do with your donations!

All levels of sponsorships are welcomed and appreciated!

As always, we are happy to share financial information about our operating expenses and our income. Just shoot us an email or give us a call. When we say we do a lot on a skinny budget, we mean it. We try to only ask for donations when our bank account gets low enough to make our treasurer nervous - and that is usually around the $3,000 mark.  

We hope you will consider joining the sponsors already on board (you can see these awesome folks here) – and remember, with your donation, your name (or your business name) will be listed on our website and in event literature and signage for a year following your donation.