Users of the Capital Crescent Trail disagree on what should go through the Bethesda tunnel: the Purple Line or the trail.
For more on the Purple Line, check out our series. Speak out: Do you think the Purple Line or the trail should run through the Bethesda tunnel?
State funding hurting from gas tax rejection. Future federal funding uncertain until 2015.
The Purple Line, the proposed 16-mile light rail transit system extending from New Carrollton to Bethesda, could be missing one vital component for its progression: funding. With the Maryland budget in crisis and a congressional stalemate over highway funding, the Purple Line’s construction could be pushed back, although several officials interviewed about the project would not predict how long the delay might be. The federal government approved preliminary engineering for the project in October, qualifying it for funding through New Starts, a federal program for new transit projects such as the Purple Line, bringing it a significant step closer to construction. From there, cost estimates and construction schedules could be fine-tuned …
2:33 pm on Thursday, July 19, 2012
What an odd collection of "facts" (look any of them up, they're all off...by a lot). Debt is 15 trillion not 5. China is nowhere near the largest single holder of USgov debt. They're the largest foreign holder of securities (very barely beating out Japan, I believe), if that's what you're trying to say. Besides, who cares who owns our crappy T-bills? They pay out basically nothing; they're a … more ›
Critics say line will hurt; others disagree.
Nora Levy-Forsythe jogs the Bethesda segment of a 13-mile nature trail that links Georgetown to Silver Spring almost every day when home from college. But, as construction of the $1.93 billion Purple Line threatens to plow through several miles of the Capital Crescent Trail, Levy-Forsythe said she would give up this oasis of nature. And it’s not just the trail—19 acres of forest and more than 5,000 feet of streams may be demolished when the Purple Line is built, according to environmental impact documents the Maryland Transit Administration drafted in 2008. “I’m totally for more public transportation,” Levy-Forsythe said. “If it means less SUVs in this neighborhood, less big cars, less any cars really, I’m fine with it.” MTA officials …
In this Article:
10:58 am on Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Oh, boo-hoo for those who border the trail who don't want a train there now. IT WAS A TRAIN TRACK FOR A HUNDRED YEARS. They can be grateful for the recent quiet period but it is time to get the trains running again. more ›
Anne Goodwin
4:27 pm on Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Common sense dictates to me that the Purple Line is light rail and not part of the Metro system; that commuters can take commuter buses that are provided; that this light rail is a complete waste of money and will be a money-losing endeavor; and finally, that the money simply is not in the coffers for such a system.....except maybe in the mind and planning of developers who stand to make big … more ›