Tuesday, May 21, 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 last 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 Metrorail 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 …
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Americans are driving less, a new study found, spurred by a sharp decline in mileage by teens and 20-somethings.
For teens and 20-somethings in America, driving is much less of a daily thing than it was, say, 20 years ago. Car usage for other age groups has also declined, according to a new study by U.S. Pirg, a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization, which found that decisions localities make about roads and transit today will either continue the trend or reverse the effects. Here in Montgomery County, are we on the road to fewer cars, or will things stay the same? Car usage has flat-lined nationally, the study found, with Americans driving the same numer of miles today that we did in 2004. Historically, people have driven more and more miles each year since World War II, the organization's data showed. According to Pirg's study, Americans are …
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Most visitors at Tuesday evening's Purple Line open house at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School were supportive of the light rail line, planners told Patch.
Turnout was strong and comments were mostly positive at an open house about the Purple Line light rail project at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School on Tuesday evening. When it opens for business (which is slated to happen in 2020), the Purple Line will connect Bethesda to New Carrollton (16 miles away) on a two-way, light-rail trolley track. The cost is projected to be slightly more than $2 billion—half of which is to be paid for by the federal government, and half by the state. The majority of people who attended Tuesday's open house were supportive of the light rail line, Maryland Transit Administration Purple Line Project Manager Michael Madden told Patch. Some were concerned with the environmental impacts of the project, Madden added. …
Saturday, May 11, 2013
The Silver Line appears on a new map, but when might the Purple Line appear?
The Maryland Transit Authority has scheduled a series of five open houses to give updates 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, connecting 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 been …
Sunday, May 5, 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 one in Bethesda, one in Chevy Chase and eight in Silver Spring. Preliminary engineering 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 …
Thursday, May 2, 2013
The Maryland Transit Administration has released a few preliminary images of what the Purple Line and Capital Crescent Trail bridges spanning Connecticut Avenue could look like.
Preliminary images of what the Purple Line bridge over Connecticut Avenue could look like recently were released by the Maryland Transit Administration. The current design calls for separate light rail and Capital Crescent Trail bridges spanning Connecticut Avenue, along with a switchback connection from the Capital Crescent Trail to Rock Creek Trail north of the Purple Line and east of Rock Creek. The bridges will be designed to be compatible with the park setting, according to transportation administration planners. The Purple Line station at Connecticut Avenue will be above-grade, they added. Right-of-way acquisition and final design phases begin this fall. Construction is slated to begin in 2015, and the Purple Line is scheduled to …
Thursday, April 25, 2013
The Montgomery County Council's Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment Committee meets Friday morning to discuss some of the county executive's recommendations.
The Purple Line, renovations to the Bethesda Metro Station's south entrance, improvements to the Capital Crescent Trail and bus rapid transit in Montgomery County are all on the agenda for Friday morning's work session of the Montgomery County Council's Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment Committee. Also on the agenda for April 26 is a proposed increase in parking fees in Bethesda's parking lot district. As the council reviews County Executive Ike Leggett's recommended budget, transportation projects are being discussed in terms of how and when the county can afford them. County Executive Leggett has recommended deferring the start of the design and construction of the Capital Crescent Trail and Bethesda Metro Station …
Thursday, April 4, 2013
The planning department's recommendations for the Chevy Chase Lake sector came under criticism during the Montgomery County Council's first work session on the sector plan.
The Montgomery County Planning Board's recommendations for the Chevy Chase Lake Sector Plan came under criticism from the Montgomery County Council late last month, when the council took up the sector plan for the first time, Bethesda Now reported. At-large Councilman Marc Elrich said that the plan was focused too much on creating density around the planned Purple Line station in Chevy Chase Lake, rather than on the needs of the existing community, according to Bethesda Now. "The purpose of planning is not to provide riders for transit systems," Elrich said, Bethesda Now reported. "The purpose of planning, I thought, was to provide livable communities," Elrich added. The council's next work session for the sector plan will take place in …
Monday, March 18, 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 …
Thursday, March 14, 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 …
Captain Cook
11:44 am on Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Thanks to O'Malley, you will pay thru those for gas - the diva's who lounge at home won't care but the working class gets screwed in MD again. more ›