[PG-Politics] Re: [PrinceGeorges_Discussion] ALERT: The Purple Line is Not What Prince George's Needs
On May 31, 2017, at 9:40 PM, Denise Foskey dfsons2@gmail.com [PrinceGeorges_Discussion] <PrinceGeorges_Discussion@yahoogroups.com> wrote:Comment: I am not too familiar with the total history of the Purple Rail development and current status. It's an expensive project.
But to throw away $800M already invested in the Purple Rail project, and possibly show for nothing (for whatever reasons) is pretty...for lack of better words... A total wast of State of MD tax dollars should this project not come to fruition. Just my opinion.
My understanding is that the Purple Rail would also assist UMD students navigate within DMV areas as well as present/future projected development. To include mitigating impact and volume of cars on 270, right?
Personally speaking, I would rather hop on a light rail system then a bus to get to commute to work. Snow (not blizzard), ball games, concerts, parades, Fed. Holidays, etc. would not close/compromise services to commuters.
Below is what I saw on WaPo.
Maryland suspends 'key elements' of Purple Line work
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David Lublin, a former mayor of the town of Chevy Chase who once opposed the Purple Line as being too expensive, said he believes the state will win the lawsuit on appeal. Even so, he said he questioned Maryland officials' "dramatic" statements that the state would lose $800 million in sunk costs and contract termination fees if the project is canceled. Why, he asked, did state officials sign a $5.6 billion, 36-year contract on a rail project that had a pending lawsuit and no federal funding in hand?
"The state seems to have arranged it to make it politically impossible to cancel or delay it," said Lublin, a local bloggerand political science professor at American University. "Would you want to be the governor who has to explain 'We spent $800 million and got nothing?'"
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On May 31, 2017, at 9:20 AM, Bradley Heard bradley.heard@gmail.com [PrinceGeorges_Discussion] <PrinceGeorges_Discussion@yahoogroups.com> wrote:Prince George's County's 15 Metrorail stations and 8 MARC stations provide tremendous regional connectivity and nearly boundless economic growth potential. Sadly, nearly all of these station areas remain substantially underdeveloped and poorly utilized. The county's general plan states that the county has too many mixed-use activity centers already--so much so that there isn't enough projected growth to develop all of them over the next 20 years. Yet, the county is planning to spend $120 million to bring 11 more Purple Line light rail stations to the county.A better approach for the county would be to (1) develop a robust local bus system that could serve the whole county and not just the northern portion, and (2) invest strategically in more of the county's existing transit station areas.
For more information, please read my latest blog article on this subject.
--Bradley E. HeardFollow me on Twitter @PGUrbanist
Posted by: Stan Fetter <sfetter@icloud.com>
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