Steve Burns
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON – (WMAL) There’s a new setback for the planned light rail line through Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties, after a federal judge ruled planners should determine what kind of affect Metro’s ridership declines will have on the future Purple Line.
Judge Richard Leon put the onus on the Federal Transit Administration to decide whether a new Environmental Impact report is needed, which could delay the project much further with a new round of public hearings and other outreach.
“I’m obviously disappointed that the judge did not reverse himself, because I believe he could have and should have,” Montgomery County Councilmember Roger Berliner told WMAL. “On the other hand, he did chart a path forward, basically saying to the federal government, ‘Show me why Metro’s current problems will not have an adverse impact on ridership.’”
Berliner is confident he and others can make the case that Metro’s problems will be long gone by the time planners estimate the Purple Line will be fully needed in 2040.
“It’s just beyond the pale that we will not have fixed Metro by the time these ridership numbers are relevant,” Berliner said. He calls Metro “modest” in the overall picture of the Purple Line’s ridership. Planners estimated about 25 percent of Purple Line riders would come from Metro.
Anti-Purple Line activists hailed the decision as a chance to step back and reevaluate the project.
“This judge has given us the opportunity to give pause to this wasteful project, and to say, ‘Okay, what are our transportation needs today? What are our obligations to Metro?’” Friends of the Capital Crescent Trail President Ajay Bhatt told WMAL. “We prefer knowing that our scarce resources are being put to its best use.”
Bhatt said he favors projects that can deliver results sooner than 2040, and for far less money. He calls the justification for the Purple Line something based on “faulty logic.”
“The idea of reviewing the project and understanding what the costs and benefits are is a very important piece, especially these days when there’s not enough money for Metro.”
Bhatt’s house is adjacent to the trail, which would house the new right-of-way for the line through Chevy Chase. He said the close proximity brought him to the issue, but he has found many more glaring issues since.
“I’m on the trail almost every day. I see tens of thousands of people enjoying the trail weekly,” he said. “Sacrificing the park for a wasteful transit project is just not sound transportation policy.”
The Purple Line would run from Bethesda to New Carrollton, connecting with Metro at its termini in addition to Silver Spring and College Park.
Copyright 2016 by WMAL.com. All Rights Reserved. (photo is a rendering of the Purple Line: Maryland Transit Administration)
