92-Foot Ventilation Tower, Part of Purple Line Plans, Proposed For Woodmont Plaza
The tower would be used in emergencies to clear the Purple Line tunnel of smoke, according to a planning staff memo.
The Maryland Transit Administration is proposing a 92-foot ventilation tower be placed in popular Woodmont Plaza as part of an emergency ventilation system for the planned Purple Line, according to a county planning staff memo. The memo provides a series of updates on how the planned, 16-mile light rail and re-constructed Capital Crescent Trail would mesh with surrounding communities in Bethesda, Chevy Chase and Silver Spring. The memo was prepared for a Montgomery County Planning Board briefing set for Feb. 28. The $2.2 billion project is in early design stages, but not yet fully funded. The proposed location of the tower in the heavily used public plaza is "not ideal," planning staff wrote, though there are "many ways that MTA can …
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Robert Posner
10:24 am on Thursday, February 28, 2013
If the PL is to serve Prince George County and has little benefit for residents stretching from Silver Spring to Bethesda, why not terminate the PL in Silver Spring? The Crescent Trail would remain as an urban linear park and the PL would effectively serve riders travelling east to west, although the East West Highway has seen very little increase in traffic. The PL, since it uses the trail right… more ›