[RP TownTalk] Purple Line

Tue Jun 7 21:40:39 UTC 2016

Nina –

I hope you read my comments as talking about the Riverdale Park Town Center (Lafayette/Queensbury).  From your post, it seems like you interpreted my comments to mean a different area (University Town Center maybe?).

The MD410 bridge over our town center and the expansion diverted most commercial traffic at the RP Town Center and turned what was a viable commercial hub into a ghost town.  It was an urban planning decision much like the ‘wall’ being proposed by the purple line folks that has a direct correlation of erecting physical barriers that closed pedestrian and vehicular traffic off (or at least diverts it to make it more difficult to get to) to a currently viable commercial area.

While no one can predict the future, basic tenets of good urban and community planning stipulate providing for better, not worse access for multi-modal transportation options.  I would respectfully disagree that not only were my prior comments not specious but this situation was experienced by the town already in past decades.

I brought up that you may have interpreted my comments as a different area bc of the MD410/Metro argument.  It seems like you are describing PG Plaza not talking about Riverdale Park, which is what I described.  The East-West Highway re-design was done in the late 1960s.  The metro was built in the late 80s with the College Park Station opening Dec 11, 1993.  Montgomery County, notably Takoma Park fought successfully against the changes and has largely remained in the same state since 1950.  The changes we have in Prince George’s County started in two phases beginning in 1956 ending between 1967-1970 with the creation of a new alignment as a four-lane divided highway.

JWE

From: Nina Faye [mailto:ns_faye at yahoo.com]
Sent: Tuesday, June 7, 2016 4:03 PM
To: Jonathan Ebbeler <jebbeler at efusionconsulting.com>; TownTalk <TownTalk at riverdale-park.org>
Subject: Re: [RP TownTalk] Purple Line

The large physical dividers on East West Hwy. had to be installed because of the poor planning and design of the entire area.  People got off the Metro and walked across East West through traffic mid block at all hours with small children in tow; then returned to the Metro the same way.  The fence was installed for safety.  People tore it down.  A strong fence was installed for safety.  The bridge was finally installed; something like the bridge should have been installed as part of the original Metro area design.
Town Center was poorly conceived, poorly planned, with no reasonable parking.  The fence and/or bridge and Town Center are totally unrelated.  No one wanted to walk across East West to get to Town Center or to drive to Town Center with no place to park.  I live within walking distance of all of this.  I have very rarely walked over to that area in the 27 years we have lived here.  I have walked to downtown Hyattsville when the spirit moves or even to downtown Riverdale Park.
Whatever the plan and arguments for the Purple Line, the East West argument is totally specious.

________________________________
From: Jonathan Ebbeler <jebbeler at efusionconsulting.com<mailto:jebbeler at efusionconsulting.com>>
To: TownTalk <TownTalk at riverdale-park.org<mailto:TownTalk at riverdale-park.org>>
Sent: Tuesday, June 7, 2016 2:57 PM
Subject: [RP TownTalk] Purple Line

All –
It is my opinion that the ‘wall’ proposed will be horrendously bad for the Kenilworth Corridor.  This opinion is shared by the town’s Urban Planning consultant Paul Mortensen who guided us through the Cafrtiz development.  When thinking about consequences think about E-W Highway decades ago.  It will be akin to that.  Large physical dividers like the EW-Highway bridge that rendered Town Center largely vacant for decades and the wall proposed by the Purple Line will unlikely be a positive outcome for the town.

A full list of scope changes can be found here (as of 6/29/2015):
http://media.nbcwashington.com/documents/Purple+Line+Scope+Changes.pdf

JWE

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