[RP TownTalk] One last thought on purple line

[Dwight Holmes]

It's never possible to know with certainty what would have happened in the
"counterfactual" case - if there had been no Metro these last 20 - 35 years
- but it's reasonable to conclude that the traffic we now face on our major
arteries would only have been much worse.  Population growth is what it is,
people need to find a place to live and work somewhere. Change is normal. To
make the best of it, we need good planning.

It's kind of ironic, perhaps, it was the street cars that first brought
people out here to these far flung suburbs, as that made it realistic to
live here and commute to DC. then the prevalence of private cars and better
roads made it feasible and attractive to live further away, in more far
flung areas.  the "inner ring suburbs" such as where we live became less
attractive and in some cases run down. (this is true nationally, not just
here).  now, with climate change and the inevitable peak oil pointing to
continued higher commuting costs, and all of this combining with the
perceived failed model of the "exurban" McMansion model, has people looking
back towards our now suddenly-more-desirable inner ring suburbs again.  We
are in transition from an era of largely unplanned growth to one, hopefully,
of a truer "smart growth".  For the sake of our sanity, health, well-being,
and for the health of the planet, we simply can't afford to keep extending
the suburbs indefinitely nor can we provide a cul-de-sac for every
household.

As Brian said earlier, what is required is adequate investments in the
amenities that make our life both better and more environmentally rational:
schools, parks, public transportation, infrastructure in general.

Parenthetically, I'm curious about the idea that sound barrier walls are
being considered for the Purple Line light rail. Really? I have no idea -
haven't looked at plans or reports. But it seems we get along fine without
insulation from the CSX tracks running through the heart of town, and the
neighborhoods of College Park near the Metro station have the sounds of the
Metro and the CSX trains.  These are both much louder than what the light
rail will be. So I'm curious as to what the rationale behind including sound
insulation in this case.

I've only seen sound insulation where major expressways bisect residential
communities - we see them in Montgomery County on the Beltway - not in PG
that I'm aware of (I'll resist making any snide PG-Montgomery comparisons!)
I would think sound barriers along East-West Highway would do more for our
quality of life than along the light rail. But what do I know.

On Wed, Nov 10, 2010 at 9:20 AM, Sue Collins <wheadle at yahoo.com> wrote:

> RE the purple line reducing traffic on Rte. 410 and in the general area;
> well, I
> would hope so and it would be great. The same thing was said back when the
> Metro
> system was started, that it would reduce traffic in the DC area.  However,
> here
> again, with the huge influx of new homes, condos, businesses, etc., traffic
> hasn't improved all that much.  Guess I'd better take plenty of photographs
> of
> the town now, so in future years I can remember how nice it used to be....
>
>
>
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