The Purple Line:
Transit Connecting Bethesda, New Carrolton, and the Washington Metro
Nick Flanders, Rose Ryan, Anupam Srivastava
CE 5212/PA 5232: Transportation Policy, Planning, and Deployment
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
September 17, 2009
The Purple Line is a proposed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) or Light Rail (LRT) line connecting the Washington, DC suburbs of New Carrolton and Bethesda, Maryland. The line would run east-west through WashingtonÕs northern suburbs, connecting existing Metro heavy rail. The Metro has operated as a subway and above-ground heavy rail since 1976, designed with lines as spokes connecting suburbs with downtown Washington. This means that suburb-to-suburb trips must be taken by bus or private car. As suburban congestion increases, both transportation options have become less efficient and less desirable. This led the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) to consider transportation alternatives for the region. The MTA has endorsed medium-investment LRT, but project has yet to be funded and the public is still debating the merits of LRT versus BRT.
Our case considers the timeline, narrative of the case, and the important stakeholders and actors. We then discuss policy issues, BRT and LRT alternatives, equity, environment, the Georgetown Branch trail-to-rail conversion, public opinion, ownership of the project, politics, and future expansions to service.
Readings for Wednesday, September 23:
Group Case writeup
Available at: http://nexus.umn.edu/Courses/Cases/ce5212/F2009/CS1/CS1.pdf
Purple Line AA/DEIS Executive Summary
Available at: http://www.purplelinemd.com/images/stories/purpleline_documents/deis/deis/ExecutiveSummaryStandAlone.pdf
Purple Line Locally Preferred Alternative
Available at:
Analysis of MTA Purple Line Alternatives and Alignments
(only read the executive summary, pages 4-9)
Available at:
Washington Post: East-West Divide Shadows Debate Over Purple Line
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/30/AR2008113002215.html
Washington Post: Pr. GeorgeÕs Pushes for the Purple Line
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/26/AR2008112602418.html
Washington Post: Proposed Purple Line Has Trail Users Seeing Red
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/07/AR2009030701836.html