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Save The Trail Petition
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Alternative Purple Line Solutions |
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Alternatives to Light Rail on the Capital Crescent Trail:
The Jones Bridge Road Bus Rapid Transit option is the only alternative included in the Maryland Transit Administration’s (MTA) Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) that does not put the Purple Line on the entire length of the Capital Crescent Trail between Bethesda and Silver Spring. However, this option would build transit along the Trail from Jones Bridge Road in Chevy Chase to Silver Spring. Thus, while this option is the best option presented by MTA, it still puts transit on part of the Trail. Bus Rapid Transit is more flexible and not as invasive to the environment and the community as light rail, and uses clean buses in dedicated lanes with smart lights, etc. In addition to preserving a major part of the Trail, the Jones Bridge Road BRT option provides a number of transportation advantages over MTA’s five other options ( that would run either light rail or buses along the entire length of the Trail). The Jones Bridge Road BRT option is about half the cost of light rail and it would go to Bethesda via the Bethesda Medical Center (where BRAC is moving Walter Reed Hospital and 4,000 new workers and visitors daily). The Jones Bridge Road BRT would also extend the Trail into the Silver Spring Transit Center along the same route as the light rail. The MTA’s DEIS gives short shrift to analyzing this option, and shows a obvious bias towards light rail on the Trail. For more information on the Jones Bridge Road BRT option, see information from Re-Thinking the Purple Line at: http://rethinkingthepurplelinecoalition.web.officelive.com/default.aspx
Summary In January 2003, then-County Executive Doug Duncan proposed the Purple Line Loop (PLL) -- a plan developed by staff of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) -- that connects the two legs of the Metrorail’s Red Line with heavy rail -- a true Metro line Loop. This plan should be revisited now -- especially in light of the Base Relocation of Walter Reed Hospital -- which will be bring thousands of new employees, patients and visitors each day to Bethesda Naval Hospital. The Loop Plan would not destroy the trees and greenspace of the Capital Crescent Trail. And, being a Metro heavy rail line, it would provide transportation benefits to riders, and improve the Metro system overall with this circuit connection between the two legs of the Red Line. Background The 4.7 mile Purple Line Loop (PLL) would connect the Silver Spring and the Bethesda Medical Center Metro stations using heavy rail. Essentially, it would travel from Silver Spring on the railroad right-of-way to the north side of the Beltway west of Forest Glen. To get to Medical Center, it would enter a tunnel to pass back under the Beltway and reach the Medical Center Station. Along the Beltway, there could be stations at both Walter Reed Annex and at Connecticut Avenue. There would be parking and bus access to the station on Connecticut Avenue. WMATA staff reported that the seamless PLL connection would increase Metro ridership while improving Metro service. For example, it would provide a one-seat ride from Union Station, north to Silver Spring and across the Loop to Bethesda Medical Center and Grosvenor, and thereby lessen traffic through Judiciary Square and DC Metro Center -- the most heavily congested Metro stops. It would improve Metro’s ability to respond to emergencies -- when a station is closed downtown, trains could still travel north on the red lines via the Loop. And the PLL would allow for growth and expansion, especially with the possibility of future connections to Virginia and White Oak. As determined by the Planning Board in 2003, the Metrorail Loop plan does not need to impact the plans for the Purple Line between Silver Spring and New Carrollton. “A future rail extension from Silver Spring to Langley Park, College Park and New Carrollton could be constructed with connections to either a Metrorail loop or the Inner Purple Line light rail” (Planning Board Staff Report, January 31, 2003). Planning Board Evaluation In January 2003, Planning Board staff reviewed the Purple Line Loop plan at the request of the County Council. At the Planning Board Hearing on January 30, 2003, the Planning Board found that the PLL is technically feasible. They also recognized the operational advantages of using Metrorail technology to join Silver Spring and Bethesda. Two of the five Planning Board members believed that the PLL should be fully studied with an EIS. Among the advantages they see in the Purple Line Loop were the following:
(Planning Board Chairman, Derick Berlage, Letter to County Council Presidenet, Michael Subin, January 31, 2003.) But three of the Board members preferred not to study the PLL further, because they believed the light rail would be less expensive, more cost effective (though they acknowledged there would be greater ridership on the PLL), better serve land uses between Silver Spring and Bethesda (with plans for density and high rise development along Connecticut Avenue where Chevy Chase Land Company owns property), and in a position to request federal construction funds sooner. However, “all five commissioners agreed that if for whatever reason the decision is made not to request construction funding authorization for the Georgetown Branch option, then planning funding should be sought to complete anEnvironmental Impact Statement that examines thePurple Line Loop.” (Glen Orlin, County Council Staff memo to County Council, January 31, 20003). Current Situation In 2008, the County and State are not in a position to obtain immediate Federal funding for construction of the Purple Line. There are no State funds available to match Federal funds. And thus, there is time now to re-consider the route and mode of the Purple Line and whether there are superior ways to meet County needs and whether there are new factors that could play a significant role in the re-evaluation of the Metro Line Loop plan. The Metro Line Loop plan should be revisited with BRAC and NIH expansion in mind. The Federal Government might give points or priority to a plan that provides much needed infrastructure for BRAC and NIH, improves the Metro system, and enhances national security. In addition, serious consideration should be given to the very strong opposition in the community and among trail users to building the light rail Purple Line along the popular Capital Crescent Trail. This opposition could very well undermine attempts to obtain Federal funding. It would be far wiser to seek a consensus plan that unites, rather than divides, the community around a transit plan. Recommendation The County should ask the State to conduct an Environmental Impact Study of the Metro Purple Line Loop plan, in light of the fact that: 1) The Loop plan may better address BRAC and NIH growth and provide superior long term transportation solutions for the County, 2) The State’s current fiscal situation means there are no funds available at this time for constructing the Purple Line, allowing time to study this route, and 3) There is strong community opposition to the proposed Inner Purple Line (IPL) alternative, that would construct a light rail along the Capital Crescent Trail between Bethesda and Silver Spring.
New technology for tunneling makes tunneling less expensive than in the past. Tunneling advocates for a tunneled Metro at Tysons Corner commissioned an engineering plan that found tunneling to be cost-competitive with above-ground rail. See What's New and htpp://www.Tyson's Tunnel.org.
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