Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown said government funding probably won't cover the more than $2 billion price tag.
Transit advocates got a mixed bag of news about the Purple Line, a proposed light rail system that would connect Montgomery and Prince George's Counties. Gov. Martin O'Malley pledged $280 million from the state's gas tax hike for the project Thursday, but over the weekend Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown said the transit project would probably need private dollars going forward, WTOP.com reported. The $2.15 billion Purple Line would operate rail stations between Bethesda and New Carrolton, with connections to existing stations on the Metro rail system. Brown, who announced that he will run for governor in 2014, told the news agency that he's been looking for companies to help pay for the project. State officials originally proposed a 50/50 split …
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Silver Line appears on new map, but when might the Purple Line appear?
The Maryland Transit Authority has scheduled a series of five open houses to update citizens on the status of the much-discussed Purple Line, according to a Washington Post story. The Purple Line is a proposed light rail extension of the current Metro system and would run for 16 miles between Bethesda and New Carrollton, and connect with the existing Red, Orange and Green Lines. Among issues that have been discussed is how the line’s construction would be funded. A February Post article stated that for Maryland to receive federal funding, the state must demonstrate that it can pay its half ($2.15 billion) of the costs. The gas tax and public-private partnerships have been talked about as possible sources of funding, but no decisions have …
Monday, May 6, 2013
The proposed 16-mile light rail line would connect Bethesda to New Carrollton.
With semi-detailed plans complete for most of the proposed stations on the 16-mile light rail project, The Purple Line is inviting residents to a series of Open House meetings in Montgomery and Prince George's Counties. The meetings are scheduled for: The $2.2 billion transit system will connect Bethesda to New Carrolton with 21 stations, including two in Bethesda-Chevy Chase and eight in Silver Spring. Preliminary enginering plans and a final environmental impact statement will wrap up this summer, state officials told Patch. With adequate funding, construction would begin in 2015 and the system would open in 2020. Currently, federal and state governments are splitting the cost of the Purple Line evenly, although money from Montgomery …
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Maryland Transit Administration officials are slowly revealing how Purple LIne stations in Silver Spring will look.
The Silver Spring Transit Center station for the Purple Line, a 16-mile light rail that will connect Bethesda to New Carrollton, will be up to 85 feet above ground, state officials said. Now, new renderings are available for the Manchester Place station in Silver Spring, which will be an entirely different concept: totally underground. Neighbors of the Dale Drive and Manchester Place stations were updated on the Maryland Transit Administration's plans for the two stations Monday. The Dale Drive station will be a typical at ground-level station. (See renderings of both attached to this article.) There will be eight stations in the Silver Spring area: Lyttonsville, Woodside/16th Street, Silver Spring Transit Center, Silver Spring Library, …
Monday, April 15, 2013
Want to know more about the Dale Drive Purple Line station?
Want to know more about the proposed Dale Drive and Manchester stations on the Purple Line? Officials from the Maryland Transit Administration will present plans Monday night for the stations, two of eight stations in Silver Spring. The 16-mile light rail line will run from Bethesda to New Carrollton and is supposed to open in 2020. The $2.2 billion project is currently wrapping up preliminary engineering plans and a final envinronmental impact statement, Madden said, both of which should be complete this summer. Information on tonight's meeting: Monday, April 15, 2013 Silver Spring International Middle School Cafeteria 313 Wayne Avenue Silver Spring 20910 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Drawings for the Purple Line station at the Silver Spring …
Thursday, April 4, 2013
The Maryland Transit Administration revealed renderings of the station at the Silver Spring Transit Center.
Drawings for the Purple Line station at the Silver Spring Transit Center were recently made public by the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA). The 16-mile light rail line will run from Bethesda to New Carrollton and is supposed to open in 2020. The Transit Center station will be the highest elevation station on the line, approximately 85 feet above ground, said Mike Madden, MTA's project manager for the Purple Line. "It's basically a tube type of design, where we have not just a canopy for rain and things, but it also includes screening for wind because you're up so high," Madden said. "It's that high because we have to go up and over the railroad, based on their requirements, we have to be a certain height above them." The Silver Spring…
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Neighbors remember Harry Sanders, a Silver Spring resident who worked for years to push the idea of the Purple Line.
A Silver Spring man fondly remembered for his work trying to make the Purple Line a reality will be honored Thursday with a memorial in Woodside Park. Harry Sanders, who passed away in 2010, lived on Noyes Lane and spent much of his time there advocating for the 16-mile light rail line that would connect Bethesda to New Carrollton. The public is invited to attend the dedication of the memorial on March 28 at 10 a.m. at Woodside Urban Park at Georgia Avenue and Spring Street in Silver Spring. “I learned so much from Harry. I learned that you must be passionate about an idea that you believe in and never let it go," said Councilwoman Valerie Ervin in a statement. "I learned that true leadership is not loud or obnoxious. It is not mean or …
Friday, March 15, 2013
Officials are readying Maryland's workforce, but funding for the light rail projects still remains uncertain.
The heads of Maryland’s transit administration and labor department say they’ll work together to prepare the state’s workforce for nearly 7,000 construction jobs that could be generated by the planned Purple Line and Baltimore's Red Line light rail systems. Funding for Maryland’s transportation projects has been a key issue in this year’s legislative session. A gas tax bill introduced by Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley this month would raise more than $3.4 billion over the next five years, some of which would go towards the 16-mile Purple Line, which, like many other state transit projects, is not yet fully funded. Following the introduction of the legislation, Maryland Transit Administrator Ralign T. Wells and Maryland Labor Secretary …
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
'Get Maryland Moving' is calling on the Maryland General Assembly to fund state transportation projects.
A new coalition is advocating for dollars for state transportation projects, including the planned 16-mile Purple Line light rail that would connect Bethesda with New Carrollton, The Washington Post reports. Get Maryland Moving, a coalition of groups, including the Montgomery County and Bethesda-Chevy Chase chambers of commerce, Purple Line Now, Action Committee for Transit and the League of Women Voters of Maryland, is pushing for state legislators to make new revenue for transportation projects a top priority this legislative session, according to the group’s website. Maryland Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Dist. 27) of Chesapeake Beach has proposed a 3-cent gas tax that would raise about $300 million for transportation …
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Montgomery County officials are blasting a state transportation funding plan that calls for re-allocating money earmarked for the two projects if lawmakers can't drum up more funds.
Members of the Montgomery County Council are urging state transportation officials against delaying funding for the Purple Line and the Corridor Cities Transitway. Lawmakers in Annapolis are struggling with ways to fund state transportation projects, including the 16-mile Purple Line light rail that would connect Bethesda with New Carrollton and the upcounty bus rapid transit route. Maryland Senate president Thomas V. Mike Miller has proposed a 3 percent gas tax that would raise about $300 million for transportation projects, Patch reported. But without a funding increase, a state transportation funding plan calls for re-allocating the money earmarked for the two projects and Baltimore’s Red Line within the Maryland Transit Administration’…
jag
12:07 pm on Saturday, May 25, 2013
Stupid comment. Of course they have only pledged $ for final design. Money for construction doesn't come until later. Of course they've already earmarked the new funding for new projects. That's the entire point. If they didn't allocate it and just put it in a slush fund you'd whine about that too (and that whining would make more sense). What a complainy, brainless troll you are. more ›