Comments on just up the pike: walking the purple line

Putting the Purple Line above ground is a dumb cho...

2006-11-17T00:24:23.460-05:00

Putting the Purple Line above ground is a dumb choice. Putting it below ground is a dumb choice, too. Metro is expensive to build and operate.

Why not something better?

Thanks for pointing out how dangerous light rail c...

2006-09-06T04:22:59.013-04:00

Thanks for pointing out how dangerous light rail can be. The propsed Thayer route is going to cross IN BACK OF EAST SILVER SPRING ELEMENTARY SCHOOL with two street level tunnel openings:

http://www.bi-countytransitway.com/PDFs/English/FG-4_Sheet07_SilverSpring.pdf

In addition, here is a list of light rail fatalities by city as of 2003. http://www.usatoday.com/news/2003-01-07-rail-fatalities.htm

The Thayer plan does not seem to make much sense.

It's a very interesting question. I'm puzzling thr...

2006-09-01T03:10:34.956-04:00

It's a very interesting question. I'm puzzling through it as I wonder how to cast my vote in the upcoming primary for County Exec and Council. I'm open to intelligent entreaties from interested parties. You can mail to fischy@comcast.net.

The most important questions to ask here is what is the potential ridership? And, related to that, who are the potential riders? The question of how it will transform neighborhoods will be secondary if the need is large enough.

As yockel said, there will be only one chance to get this right. I'm just not so sure what right would be. My instinct would be to put it underground, because I grew up with New York City subway. But the DC metro is a different animal. In some ways it's more like the suburban commuter lines in New York, than the subway, especially when you look at the ridership. And stations here are so deep underground that getting in and out is not the most convenient thing in the world.

I was in Cologne this summer, and I was taken with the trolley system. They do have an underground, but the trolleys are fairly popular, and more convenient. Anyone who thinks they don't alleviate congestion is deluded. Of course they're for an urban environment -- where people get on and off after fairly short trips. The question is, what will the Silver Spring-Bethesda axis become?

The Purple Line will serve many purposes. 1) To take people to the more diverse restaurant and shopping scene in Bethesda. 2) Or, in reverse, to take people to the larger events in the new downtown Silver Spring. There will be a great service in facilitating commuting.

But, I envision the greatest benefits in the link to the University in College Park. It may be outside the County, but it is growing enormously, and serves thousands of County residents. The question is how to make that most useful. I think underground does make some sense to traverse the distance, but, it isn't all that far, either. If it can be shown that the ridership would be higher, or better served by a light rail, perhaps one that makes more stops than has been envisioned, then that should be the way to go.

I have read some concerns about safety here. To be honest, they're legitimate. I almost met my end in Cologne, trying to cross the streets. At a large intersection, I was watching car traffic and lights, and trying to figure out which cross-street was the one with my hotel. I heard a bell behind me, but didn't register it. Then I started to cross the tracks, when I heard it again, louder. I realized I had a fraction of a second to step back on the sidewalk before I became trolley-meat. Anyway, I'm still here. Of course, that could happen with cars, too.

I don't have the answers, but I do have questions.

Great report, Courtyard. Thanks a lot.Putting the...

2006-08-26T08:46:58.386-04:00

Great report, Courtyard. Thanks a lot.

Putting the Purple Line underground is the smart choice. The construction will still disrupt neighborhoods and will be more expensive. But it's a good investment into our infrastructure.

Below surface transportation will be faster. A surface Purple Line will contribute to crowded traffic. A subway will give us another traveling dimension. For the people that have to live along the route, a subway will also be less noisy.

If we spend all that money on the Purple Line then we need to get it right. We have only one shot at this.

Demographers and urban planners continue to project substantial population growth for the metro area. Our infrastructure investment needs to reflect this trend.

Half the money spend on a lousy compromise would be much more wasteful than getting it right.

Ben: I wholeheartedly agree, and it's not Hans' fa...

2006-08-25T17:28:09.203-04:00

Ben: I wholeheartedly agree, and it's not Hans' fault that a few neighbors think he's not up-to-speed with the process.

I take issue with the characterization on "Walking...

2006-08-25T15:32:56.116-04:00

I take issue with the characterization on "Walking the Purple Line" that Hans Riemer is "behind the curve" on the Purple Line.

My wife and I live on Sligo Avenue between Fenton and Piney Branch, which is one of the proposed alignments for the Purple Line through Silver Spring. Over the last few months, I have spoken with Hans Riemer several times about the Purple Line generally, as well as the proposed Silver Spring alignments.

Hans has shown himself to be well-informed and thoughtful on these issues, and he is sensitive to the impact the various alignments may have on Silver Spring’s various neighborhoods. As a resident of East Silver Spring just off of Sligo Avenue, he too would be affected by this alignment.

Hans and I have talked about the need to ask the following kinds of questions: Is there sufficient ridership demand to justify the Purple Line? If so, what form should it take? What alignments would best serve the prospective ridership and the community while minimizing negative impacts on Silver Spring’s neighborhoods?

As a progressive, smart and well-informed candidate, Hans has shown me that he possesses the judgment, intelligence and character to successfully guide the Purple Line decision-making process. He is focused on the balance any good decision-making process will need to strike, and he is ready to avoid the pitfalls of NIMBY-ism.

Mr.fustero, the more I read your posts the more yo...

2006-08-25T09:34:48.586-04:00

Mr.fustero, the more I read your posts the more you disappoint. Wheaton is the perfect place for infill development to help revitalize a distressed area and curb sprawl. This would be for the greater good of the county instead of the few. If the blight spreads we will have a bigger problem on our hands.

I don't have to tell what is being done with those homes along Viers Mill and University.

I'm not sure what everyone's so worried about. We...

2006-08-25T09:27:15.776-04:00

I'm not sure what everyone's so worried about. We will all be dead before they ever build the Purple Line. Either that or teleportation will be invented, making the Metro obsolete.

Bob Fustero: I you are going to be up at 2 a.m. co...

2006-08-25T08:38:42.520-04:00

Bob Fustero: I you are going to be up at 2 a.m. could you please go out and try to catch the people who are exercising their plan to rip down Robin Ficker Property Tax Relief signs? You might get a reward!

I shall continue to support the East Silver Spring...

2006-08-25T08:34:39.890-04:00

I shall continue to support the East Silver Spring Community just like I did when I was legal counsel for the parents of East Silver Spring Elementary in Brown vs. Board of Education (there was more than one). In that lawsuit I was successful in obtaining the first Federal Injunction ever against the Montgomery County School Board by convincing the Judge that the small school should not be torn down for racial and other reasons.

Great photos. This just goes to show how little ...

2006-08-25T02:02:38.146-04:00

Great photos. This just goes to show how little thinking is done when plans are made.

I truly believe that down the road- if anymore housing is built in the Wheaton area, people living on Georgia Ave between Viers Mill Road and Forest Glenn will lose their front yards and probably their homes.