THE GAZETTE
Wednesday, August 28, 2013 o
PROJECTED TIMELINE
PURPLE
Continued from Page A-1
Fall2011 n Began preliminary engineering and final environmental impact statement.
Spring2013 n Public meetings with Purple Line planners.
Summer2013 n Publication and review of final environmental impact statement.
Fall2013 n Completion of preliminary engineering plans, record of decision, begin final design and start land-acquisition process for construction staging areas.
2015 n Begin construction.
2020 n Open to service. SOURCE: WWW.PURPLELINEMD.COM
maintaining the project, the private partner also will help finance a portion of the construction, according to the Purple Line website. Construction, set to begin in 2015, is expected to last five years. As a light-rail system, the train would be slower than Metro trains, said Michael D. Madden, manager of the Maryland Transit Administration’s Purple Line project. Traveling at posted roadway speeds and carrying fewer people per train, the Purple Line would be mostly above ground, he said. A light rail is an electric rail train powered by overhead wires. Its tracks are safe to walk across because no power runs through the rails. Madden said that while the project has very broad support, his team has worked to lessen the concerns of communities along the route. Those concerns include how the rail line will affect hike-and-bike trails as well as the impact it will have on houses and businesses. In its current design, 113 properties along the route of the 21-station line will have to be demolished for the project. The transit agency said it will negotiate with property owners to offer a price based on fair market value, although several business owners have expressed doubt that there will be enough money to help them move and start over. Owners unwilling to sell will find themselves in court, fighting the state’s efforts to take their property through eminent domain, said Purple Line strategic outreach coordinator Teri Moss. Those who feel they have been or will be injured by the project, or who feel they
are being discriminated against, can file a complaint under the Civil Rights Act with the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development or the state transit agency’s Equal Opportunity Section, according to the agency. Contractors will decide the details of when Purple Line work will begin along the route, but the state ultimately will own and manage the rail line, Madden said. The Federal Transit Administration is expected to issue the “record of decision” this fall, which will allow construction to begin on the Purple Line, he said. “Once that’s issued, we are then able to begin negotiating the acquisition of property,” Madden said, adding that his agency already is starting to bring onboard independent appraisers. Because these areas often will require full relocation of residents and businesses, Madden said his team plans to start the process as soon as October and into early 2014. The state plans to provide services to affected homeowners and tenants, including relocation counselors, replacement housing assistance payments of up to $45,000 for homeowners, moving expense reimbursements, higher mortgage interest-rate reimbursements and business reestablishment allowances of up to $60,000, Madden said. Property values within a quarter- to half-mile of the Purple Line stations will “most likely” rise, Madden said. During the housing downturn, he said, houses near mass transit systems, especially light and heavy rail, maintained their value better than other houses. However, he said, there is no guarantee. The new light rail is about improved connections — from one Metro line to an-
Page A-11
SOUNDING OFF BETHESDA STATION, 9 A.M. “This just breaks my
heart,” said Maribeth Eiden, who stood in her shaded yard on Kentbury Drive, which backs up to the Georgetown Branch of the Capital Crescent Trail, and pointed out two towering tulip poplars that will have to be cut down to make way for the light rail. She and her husband, who have lived in the house since 1982, are part of a neighborhood group that is fighting the Purple Line. “This will have a huge ecological effect. This kind of canopy is not replaceable.”
TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE
Tall, mature trees will be lost to the construction of the Purple Line along the Georgetown Branch Trail, an extension of the Capital Crescent Trail in Bethesda.
other, one activity center to another and connections to employment hubs, he said. “It certainly has the potential to spur a lot of good things,” Madden said.
BETWEEN SILVER SPRING TRANSIT CENTER AND SILVER SPRING LIBRARY, 9:09 A.M. AND 9:12 A.M.
“I’m quite sure every development project takes steps, and it seems like we are always the last step or last thought,” said Michael A. Bailey, the owner and barber at Ebony Barbers Unisex on Bonifant Street, noting his business depends on visibility and walkins. “If we lose revenue, how
janfenson-comeau@gazette.net
LIGHT RAIL FACTS n Light rail trains are designed with low floors and wide doorways.
Trains are approximately
95-100 feet long.
Train cars will hold
140
n The flat fare is expected to be
passengers. There will also
comparable
be two-car trains, which will
to Metrobus.
hold 280 passengers.
MTA RENDERING
RIDE
Continued from Page A-1 Passing through the East Bethesda neighborhood, the mature trees that once shaded the trail will be gone, taken down for the light rail. Riders will be able to see directly into the backyards of houses on Kentbury Drive, homes of residents who have fought this project for years, and whose houses will be visible above the 4-foot sound wall. Connecticut Avenue Station, 9:03 a.m.
As the train continues east, it will pass through Columbia Country Club and will cross Connecticut Avenue on a bridge, coming to stop at a new station where the Chevy Chase Lakes project is slated to be built.
Lyttonsville Station, 9:05 a.m.
The train will make its way into Lyttonsville, a tight-knit, historically African-American community. Lyttonsville is home to an industrial district, the Forest Glen Annex and the National Park Seminary, which has been rooted in the community for more than 100 years as both a finishing school for girls and a rehabilitation facility for soldiers returning from World War II. Five generations of Charlotte Coffield’s family have lived in Lyttonsville. While the community was concerned about the project at first, the Purple Line team was given a tour of the community and agreed to relocate the maintenance yard, which saved some businesses. Though she may not ride the Purple Line, Coffield said she sees the value of the project for future generations. Resident Roger Paden thinks this project could make Lyttonsville a recreation destination because of the stop’s close proximity to the neighborhood community center, Rosemary Hills Park and Rock Creek Park.
Woodside/16th Street Station, 9:07 a.m.
Pulling into the station, there will be no sign of the Spring Center shopping mall and the many small businesses it currently houses. Shops and restaurants will have been forced to relocate and some will have been eligible for up to $60,000 for relocation expenses. But that’s not enough, say the shop owners who are there now. Some are first-generation Americans and say they don’t know whom to contact to voice their opposition to the project.
Silver Spring Transit Center Station, 9:09 a.m.
By 9:09 a.m., the train will travel over the Metro’s Red Line where it crosses over Colesville Road. It will head directly into the heart of Silver Spring’s Central Business District at the Silver Spring Transit Center, on the corner of Wayne Avenue and Colesville Road. Once it’s open, the transit hub will bring together buses, taxis, the MARC train, Metro’s Red Line and the Purple Line light rail. As the train continues toward its next destination, it will travel through
BILL RYAN/THE GAZETTE
Melinda Ulloa, of Takoma Park, talks about trying to keep the old Flower Theater intact, after the Purple Line comes to Takoma Park. what was once 1110 Georgia Ave., a commercial office building on the corner of Bonifant Street that houses more than a dozen businesses, including tattoo parlors, bookstores and restaurants. The building will be acquired to ensure that the train will make it to grade level on Bonifant Street, which is home to more than 20 small businesses. Shop owners soon will see their two-lane road with 30 metered parking spaces transform to a one-way street with only 12 metered spaces for patrons and two lanes of light rail barreling by. Silver Spring Library Station, 9:12 a.m.
Within three minutes of the hustle and bustle of one of the busiest stops on the line, the train will pull up to the new Silver Spring Library, which is expected to be open by November 2014. During the next four minutes, the train will travel through the peaceful, shaded neighborhood of the ThreeCivics Working Group for Residential Wayne Avenue Purple Line Design. The collaboration formed in April and comprises the Seven Oaks Evanswood, East Silver Spring and Park Hill civic associations. The group met collectively with Purple Line officials July 25 to discuss only a handful of their concerns, including the location of a traction power substation — a large box placed every mile along the path that keeps the train moving — which is planned to be anchored in the front yard at the corner of Wayne Avenue and Greenbrier Drive.
Dale Drive Station, 9:16 a.m.
Riders then will pass by where the Dale Drive Station is planned. Residents and Purple Line officials still are debating the need for the station, which will be placed in the middle of a single-family home neighborhood in close proximity to Sligo Creek Elementary School and the Silver Spring International Middle School. While most residents accept the inevitability of the Purple Line, some still question the need for this stop along the route. This stretch of the line is the only one in Montgomery County where cars
will share lanes with the light rail. Resident Chris Richardson said he worries whether Purple Line planners can mitigate the concerns of the neighborhood, such as the noise of squealing wheels and the placement of the traction power substations. He also fears the Purple Line will lead to zoning changes that will compromise the character of the neighborhood. Manchester Place Station, 9:20 a.m.
After the train leaves the Manchester Place Station, it will take one of its few trips underground for the 100 block of Plymouth Street, a quiet, dead-end road that is lined with brick apartment buildings and single-family homes. Bart Hall, who has lived on the street for 20 years, said he has no problem with the light rail, as long as it doesn’t change the character of his quiet neighborhood. He doesn’t want the street to turn into the station’s de facto parking lot.
Long Branch Station, 9:22 a.m.
Just two minutes later, the train will pull into the Long Branch Station, which is bordered by small businesses. Carlos Perozo, owner of tax preparation business ZP Tax since 2007 and a Silver Spring resident since 2002, sees the station as “progress.” His office will be about a mile and a half from the station and he believes that in conjunction with the Long Branch Sector Plan, the Purple Line could help in the revitalization of the multicultural community.
Piney Branch Road Station, 9:26 a.m.
After the train leaves the Piney Branch Road Station, it will pass Flower Avenue and the front of the historic Flower Theatre. The theater’s facade, including 40 feet into the building, was designated a historic site by the Montgomery County Council Planning, Housing and Economic Development Committee on July 29. The County Council will vote on the site’s historic preservation in the fall, according to Melissa Williams, a senior planner at the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission.
This is not good enough for Takoma Park and Silver Spring residents such as Melinda Ulloa and Dan Reed, who are working with the Flower Theatre Project to save the theater and turn it into a community or arts space. John Marcolin, an urban designer for the Montgomery County Planning Department, said the theater will not be torn down for light rail construction. The proposed station will be on nearby Arliss Street, but the Flower Theatre will not be affected, Marcolin said. Ulloa said she is also worried about her neighbors in nearby apartment buildings. Light-rail construction will take down current retail and apartment buildings on Piney Branch, Flower Avenue and Arliss Street. Residents such as Marilyn Piety worry what traffic pattern changes in the neighborhood for the Purple Line could mean for their main drag of Flower Avenue. The rail car will turn onto Md. 193 and pass the New Hampshire Estates, a 4.9-acre park with sports fields and a playground. The park will lose 10 to 15 spaces in a small lot for the rail line construction, said Chuck Kines, the park and trail planner for the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. But Kines said the park will be more walkable after the light rail is built. Takoma/Langley Transit Center station, 9:28 a.m.
Nearing the Takoma/Langley Transit Center Station at 9:28 a.m., riders will pass several apartment buildings on University Boulevard with window seats to the Purple Line. Renters once had affordable housing, but access to major transit is bumping up rental rates, pushing many out. Rents are rising in apartments such as Bedford Station Apartments at 1400 University Blvd. East, and Victoria Station Apartments at 8107 14th Ave., both in Hyattsville. Many tenants are being pushed out, said Zorayda MoreiraSmith, the manager for housing and community development at Casa of Maryland, an organization that helps low-income Hispanics in the community gain access to resources. As the train pulls into the station, riders will see the back of the Expo Emart in the Takoma/Langley Crossroads shopping center. A portion of the Expo Emart parking lot will be lost for light rail construction, but Susanne DeLyon, the president of Expo Emart, is not upset by this. She said customers will be able to get to the market from farther distances now that they have access to the Purple Line, opening a new customer base for her store. Many businesses along University Boulevard are looking forward to construction, said Melanie Isis, the executive director of the Takoma/Langley Crossroads Development Authority, which represents business and property owners in the area. The authority sees the Purple Line as positive investment in local infrastructure. ablum@gazette.net
do we pay our bills?” Bailey is no stranger to the encroaching demands of development. He was forced to move his barbershop to its current location 18 years ago to make way for the revitalization of downtown Silver Spring. While he is in support of progress, he is worried about how the Purple Line will affect business.
DALE DRIVE (FUTURE) 9:16 A.M.
“There’s no arguing the convenience,” said Chris Richardson, a Silver Spring resident, of the potential Dale Drive station. “But it’s a Trojan horse in that according to people plugged into zoning code rewrite, once you put in a transit station you impose upon it expectations for development around the station.” Richardson has voiced his concerns at a meeting with Purple Line planners on July 25 about changing the character of the quaint neighborhood he lives in with his wife and kids.
PINEY BRANCH ROAD STATION, 9:26 A.M.
“I’m happy that Montgomery County has deemed Langley Park worthy of their efforts,” said Melinda Ulloa, a Takoma Park resident fighting to keep the historic Flower Theatre, which may be affected by Purple Line construction. “I’m not sure that a light rail is money well spent. Prices will go up. I can only assume that with the development, the traffic will increase. My neighbors are in those apartment buildings. I foresee that it will displace a large number of people. What are they going to do to relocate these residents?”
TAKOMA/LANGLEY TRANSIT CENTER, 9:28 A.M. “If there’s a stop out
front, it’ll be great,” said Susanne DeLyon, the president of Expo Emart. DeLyon said she is excited for the light rail and is anxiously waiting for it to be built. “A whole lot of people here don’t have driver’s licenses and cars. They’re stranded. It’s very difficult to live in America without a car.”
— AGNES BLUM