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 projects, Patch reported.
But without a tax increase to fund the Purple Line, the project—along with Baltimore’s Red Line and the Corridor Cities Transitway through the Interstate 270 corridor—could be put on hold, Maryland transportation officials have said. Montgomery County officials and transportation advocates have argued that deferring the funds in the state's transportation funding plan could stall the projects and make them less competitive for federal dollars.
Get Maryland Moving is encouraging Maryland residents to contact their legislators and sign a petition supporting transportation funding. The petition reads:
“No funding solution this year means that critical capital projects such as the Purple Line, Red Line, and MARC upgrades may be delayed for years or decades. We call on our leaders to take a different path: to invest in our future by securing funding for critical transit projects, road maintenance, and other investments to support smart, sustainable growth for Maryland.”
Worse is the inability to foresee the need for platform screen doors (suicide/accident prevention barriers) as are used for airport tram systems. But now we do know better, as we have seen many suicides and accidents and will likely see homicides, too. And yet we want to build a system that has no suicide barriers? Above ground, that would be impossible - you can't keep kids and pets off the tracks. Ask Amtrak. It can't be done.
That said, I'd find this way more useful than the joke that is the ICC, and if the thing also extended in the other direction to the new silver line, it'd be even better. Now, I do agree that a lot of this is being pushed by the wrong people, and will probably be a disaster, since, well WMATA is involved. If they do it, I'd prefer they do it right.