[RP TownTalk] One last thought on purple line

[Melissa Avery]

Metro has either electric fences or sound barrier walls around it. the reason is 
noise reduction and safety.
If we did not have this protection, there would be more than dead chickens on 
the tracks.
Also, the "light rail" (marketing hype terminology) travels up to 55 mph, only 
10 mph less than metro, or the train. there will still be a need for two way 
track.
If people want this kind of thing in there community, they should chose to live 
in Rockville or Gaithersburg, not spoil the only thing Riverdale Park has going 
for it, the open spaces and slower way of life. Change of this kind is not 
inevitable or normal, it is the result of poor community planning, ignorance and 
apathy.



________________________________
From: Dwight Holmes <dwightrholmes at gmail.com>
To: TownTalk <towntalk at riverdale-park.org>
Sent: Wed, November 10, 2010 11:13:11 AM
Subject: Re: [RP TownTalk] One last thought on purple line

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....
>
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>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
>



      
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://riverdale-park.org/pipermail/towntalk/attachments/20101112/c8041afe/attachment-0002.html>