[RP TownTalk] Purple Line route thru Riverdale

[Alice Ewen Walker]

Yes, MTA did study a couple of possible routes that would have placed a
Purple Line stop at the Town Ctr/MARC station area. Those options have been
eliminated at this point because MTA found a number of challenges with the
location. One key reason MTA recommended against the scenario is that it
puts the path of the train line pretty far off course, adding many more
minutes to riders' commutes. Another reason was that the number of riders
using that stop would be small, in comparison to stops at M-Square and
Kenilworth Avenue/410.
MTA did map out how it would work and what kind of things would have to
change to accommodate a stop in the town center/MARC area. To do that would
have required a number of houses to be removed from Ravenswood or
Rittenhouse (depending on their scenario), and - a big issue - one route
involved shutting down the crossing at Queensbury to work out a bunch of
issues with CSX. It would have sent the rail line down Lafayette and then
headed east on 410. Also, they were looking at getting some space from CSX
for a storage/maintenance yard, which we said would not work for the town.
There are probably some other features I am forgetting, but the short story
is that the scenario was drafted in response to a request from Councilman
Olson to explore the viability of this option, and after doing a pretty
thorough job of exploring, its viability was found to be low. Once they drew
up the options, it really seemed like there were bigger  down sides in terms
of chopping up the town and changing the neighborhood character to be able
to accommodate a stop in TC.

The council, with leadership from Kate Sharpe, provided detailed comments to
MTA in support of locating the M-Square stop closer to the gosling
pond/Raytheon area so that walkers could safely and easily approach the
station from the  Tuckerman Street path. The other thing the town is
advocating for is the elevation of the line so that it is not doing an
at-grade crossing at E-W Highway. We also noted support for enhanced design
and the opportunity for a transit plaza or 'super station' located on the SE
corner of Kenilworth, which already has lots of transit users and pedestrian
traffic.

Hope that helps. It will be a significant benefit for Riverdale Park to have
two stops located in town. The alignments for those stops are what is under
consideration - but we are definitely on the map to have two stops - one
serving MSquare and one serving 410/Kenilworth.

Alice Ewen Walker


-- 
Alice Ewen Walker
Councilwoman, Ward 1
Town of Riverdale Park

On Mon, Dec 29, 2008 at 12:44 AM, Sarah Wayland <sarah.wayland at gmail.com>wrote:

> I've actually been trying to post messages about the plans for the
> Purple Line when I hear about them. Here's the official website where
> you can learn more about the current view of the project:
> http://www.purplelinemd.com/
>
> The Maryland Transit Authority hosted 4 public meetings in November to
> get feedback from the public. Here's where you can look at the
> presentations the MTA gave at the public hearings:
> http://www.purplelinemd.com/aadeis/aadeis-public-hearings.
>
> It's my understanding that right now everything is still negotiable.
> Here's a link to the various alternatives being considered:
> http://www.purplelinemd.com/our-study
>
> -Sarah
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