At a dinner party a few months ago, I met an engaged couple who was in the middle of the type of disagreement that usually revolves around religion: who will be the one to convert?  But their argument had nothing to do with faith. You see, he was a Virginia person and she was a Maryland person and neither one was willing to move across the border once they were married.  This kind of loyalty is pretty common in the DC Metropolitan area. But despite the continued banter about why Maryland is better than Virginia or vice versa, there is one thing that unites us all, regardless of our zip code: a mutual hatred of the Capitol Beltway. 

As a recovered Beltway commuter, I sympathize with anyone who is currently experiencing the soul crushing experience that is commuting on the freeway that encircles Washington, DC. While the Metro is great, it doesn’t help all Marylanders. Unless you’re traveling from a Maryland suburb into the city, you’re probably out of luck. For someone like me who used to have to commute from College Park, MD to Silver Spring, MD, it just didn’t make sense to metro all the way into the city, transfer from the green line to the red and then metro all the way back out to Maryland to get to work. So I joined the hundreds of thousands of commuters who hope for the best but all too often feel that twinge of rage at the sight of traffic as they round the ramp to the Beltway. Congestion like this, combined with the recent horrors at the gas pump and an increased effort to decrease our carbon footprint, leads commuters to long for the mythical Purple Line. 

Various versions of the Purple Line have been discussed and fantasized about since the 1980s. The idea is to create a mass transit system that would connect (in a circular Beltway fashion) all of the existing Metro lines and therefore relieve traffic on the Capital Beltway caused by commuters traveling between the suburbs that surround DC.  And while projects like these are never quick to become reality, the good news is that we might see the existence of the Purple Line long before we retire. If the Maryland Transit Authority (MTA) stays on track with current projections, Marylanders might finally get relief by 2015. 

“The Purple Line is very likely the only chance we have to improve east-west travel.  The Beltway, East West Highway and other east-west travel routes cannot be widened or significantly improved.  The current bus services along this east-west corridor are slow and unreliable.  Travel times vary greatly due to congestion based on time of day and accidents,” says Michael Madden, the MTA project manager for the Purple Line.

The most recent incarnation of the Purple Line would connect Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties, from Bethesda to New Carrollton with either a light rail or a bus rapid transit system. MTA’s Purple Line would not be affiliated with Metro and would not extend into Virginia or DC to circle the city. But Madden explains that it would still be a significant addition to current mass transit systems, saying, “The Purple Line would improve system connectivity by providing direct and convenient links to the radial Metrorail lines, including both branches of the Red Line, Green Line and the Orange Line; in addition to all three MARC rail lines and AMTRAK.” 

The MTA is currently conducting community focus groups to hear what residents think about the proposed plan.  Common concerns include increased noise levels, the visual impact as well as the preservation of the Capital Crescent Trail, which has been proposed as part of the Purple Line’s route.  But Madden said that at a meeting last week in College Park, MD, almost all the feedback was positive and many residents expressed a strong desire to build the Purple Line as soon as possible.  

A few groups have organized in opposition of the Purple Line, most notablyThe Greater Bethesda-Chevy Chase Coalition’s Committee to Save the Trail, which (according to public records) is largely funded by Columbia Country Club, whose golf course is adjacent to the trail. On their website, (www.savethetrail.org) the group says that the Purple Line would have a “devastating effect” on the Capital Crescent Trail and surrounding communities and that the trains running parallel to the trail would be a safety concern.  But the Action Committee for Transit (www. innerpurpleline.org) points out that the trail would not even exist had the abandoned railroad tracks and land that make up the trail’s path not been purchased by the local government with the Purple Line in mind. They also say that the existing trail will not be destroyed but in fact extended by the creation of the Purple Line. 

If you want to weigh in on how the Purple Line could affect you or your neighborhood, check out one of the meetings held by MTAthis week.