My Purple Line Solution
There has been much talk recently about the latest round of Purple Line focus groups. Just up the Pike has a great writeup on the last meeting, as a matter of fact. I know that one of the goals is to make it easier for people to get from Prince George’s County to Bethesda, but I have to ask: what’s in it for me? What do I want?
I never go to New Carrollton, and if I ever go to College Park, it’s to pick up loads of unecessary crap from IKEA. I’m not about to haul that back via the light rail system. But I do work in Rockville, and have been known to go to Bethesda for evening outings now and then. All I really want is something to connect with the northwestern end of the Red Line. So here’s what I propose:
This solves multiple problems. Mainly, the issue of where the train travels through East Silver Spring is now a moot point. No splitting up Wayne Avenue. No more SSTOP signs in my neighborhood. If I took Metro (which is time prohibitive with the current map) this would reduce the number of stops in my commute from 22 to roughly 10. Now that’s a commute I could live with.
And now that Doug Duncan is over in College Park, he can find someone else’s budget to steal from to solve the problem of getting people from Prince George’s County to Bethesda (via Silver Spring, I guess). Because it looks like he’s not getting the “Birchmere” money anytime soon.
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Now, if we could only get Metro to put in a stop at Chevy Chase Wine & Liquor (they have one of the best beer selections on the East Coast).
My streetcar solution would be perfect for that route. It’d be all above ground on an existing right-of-way.
Excellent. We could totally ravage East-West Highway while cutting an annoying swath through Chevy Chase on the way to Bethesda.
And I like the stop at Chevy Chase Wine & Liquor. The locals will *love* it, too, methinks.
Pi** on them if they can’t take a joke. We’re at the end of the 70 bus line, so we’ve paid our dues. If ignorance is bliss, then it’s up to us to spread it to our more affluent neighbors.
Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but i think you’ve precisely described “Phase 1″ of the project… I think it’s intended to be built in phases, with the first one being Bethesda to Silver Spring.
That being said… I commute north to B’more everyday from Silver Spring… I take the metro to union station and the MARC train north (yes that’s MUCH faster than the current metrobus to new carrollton). While the half a dozen folks I’ve seen with the identical commute to me don’t justify the line to new carrolton – I think that connection to the MARC Penn Line will prove VERY useful. Particularly with the expanded MARC service they’re talking about. I think it would be a great thing for BWI’s business, as it would actually be easier (or just as easy at least) for Silver Springer’s (and other beltway-ers) to get to BWI as it is for them to get to National.
You may not have a lot of business in College Park and New Carrollton, but what about the people who do? It seems more than a little selfish to ditch those segments of the Purple Line just because of your own needs. I understand you might have misgivings about it because the line might go on or near Thayer Avenue . . . but it’s hard to make fun of NIMBYs when you talk the talk yourself.
Aww… come on. Can’t you see the humor/sarcasm inherent in the post? Of course it’s ridiculous to think that’s the only place the Purple Line should go. Of course it’s selfish to ditch those segments of the Purple Line because of my own needs. Of course I’m alienating the large majority of people who would use the line. Of course there are a lot of people in Prince George’s County that need an easier path to Bethesda. That’s why it’s one of the stated goals of the Purple Line.
I take neither myself nor this blog all that seriously. It’s a fun outlet for some creative writing, poking fun, and (sometimes) incendiary posts. If people enjoy the humor and want to read, fine. If not, they can go elsewhere. There are plenty of people in the area (i.e., you) who do good writing on important issues that are vital to the community. I, for the most part, am NOT one of those people.
I always appreciate the input, but sometimes you just have to sit back and have some fun, you know?
I thought it was funny, anyway.
I hear what paul is saying, and I’ve been of that mind as well, but now I’m conflicted about making it easier to get between MARC and Metro, and the whole expanded MARC service thing.
It’s a clusterf**k at Union Station when a MARC train arrives and the southbound Red Line train is already full. What happens to the Red Line when MARC service is tripled and the Purple Line dumps even more people into Silver Spring?
About the Purple Line route itself, I can’t imagine a plan that takes away lanes of road traffic on Wayne. That road is already crapified during rush hour and people are squirting through residential streets to avoid it. I think the SSTOP / Thayer Ave crowd should just suck it up and let the train go through the remote section of their giant backyards.
I’ve mentioned it on other blogs, but in regards to the issue of Bethesda, why don’t people just take the J2 bus?
Have YOU Taken the J2 bus lately? I ride it several times a week during hours outside of rush hour and it is always crammed full with many standing and hanging on while the driver careens around corners and slams on the brakes when drivers run around and cut them off. It is not fun or pleasant – it is sometimes downright scarey and torturous. Will Joe Schmoe average white guy communter ever ge caught dead on “the bus” – no, light rail is the answer to get him out of that SUV.
I took the J2 one weeknight last week because of a huge problem on Metro heading towards SS. I figured it would be faster to take the Metro to Bethesda, which was running normally, and J2 it over to SS.
I took an empty seat. Shortly into the ride I looked up and saw that a HUGE lighting panel right above me was hanging loose, with sharp edges and exposed wiring. The thing was bouncing up and down along with the bus and threatened to crash down upon my head and those of the people in front/behind me at any second. I quickly moved.
Fortunately, it did not crash down, but it definitely came close and could have injured people. I’ll still take the J2 in a pinch, but a (functioning) purple line will be much better.