[RP TownTalk] Purple Line route thru Riverdale

[Dwight Holmes]

Thanks Alice (and Kate and everyone who's working on this). Much appreciated.

On Wed, Dec 31, 2008 at 11:45 AM, Alice Ewen Walker
<alice at ewenwalker.com> wrote:
> 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
>> _______________________________________________
>> TownTalk mailing list
>> To post to the list, send mail to TownTalk at riverdale-park.org
>> TownTalk-request at riverdale-park.org is for automated subscription
>> processing only
>> http://riverdale-park.org/mailman/listinfo/towntalk
>>
>> For more information about Riverdale Park, visit
>> http://www.riverdaleparkmd.info
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> TownTalk mailing list
> To post to the list, send mail to TownTalk at riverdale-park.org
> TownTalk-request at riverdale-park.org is for automated subscription processing
> only
> http://riverdale-park.org/mailman/listinfo/towntalk
>
> For more information about Riverdale Park, visit
> http://www.riverdaleparkmd.info
>
>