Latest Purple Line Videos, Presentation
Last week the Maryland Transit Administration held the latest information session about the Purple Line, revealing updated results of their work estimating the cost and proposed alignments through campus. We did not attend, but have obtained a copy of the presentation (PDF) and videos presented MTA consultants at the meeting. The Diamondback covered the event and even ran an interview with Joel Oppenheimer, the man who has become the public face of the engineering team at these meetings.
The videos show light rail vehicles in the context of campus along the proposed Campus Drive alignment.
Stamp Student Union
Hornbake Plaza
> See the MTA April 9 Presentation
Thanks to Laura Moore for sharing these materials
Click here to view our interactive project map
April 17th, 2008 at 8:55 pm
I don’t know whats more excruciating- waiting for the University’s administration to give in to the sensible Campus Drive alignment, or waiting for Hillary to drop out of the presidential race.
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:00 pm
This looks wonderful. What an improvement from the Campus Drive seen today. I hope that if this alignment is chosen, it will serve as a model for the landscaping around St. Mary’s and Jimenez Halls, which currently is not up to par with the University’s expectations. The landscaping on the other side of McKedlin Mall near the current location of the Journalism Building also needs some work, but that’s another story.
April 30th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
Fantastic videos and the report is just about as impressive. I thought the most notable points were:
- Campus Dr alignment results in 78% decrease in traffic (vehicles per minute)
- Preinkert alignment projects in 20 years Campus Dr will be gridlocked during the day
- Campus Dr alignment improves pedestrian safety significantly
- Preinkert alignment introduces one vehicle per 1.5-2 minutes to an area currently vehicle-free, possibly reducing pedestrian safety
- Campus Dr has minimum of 110 feet between buildings, more space for landscaping, an existing transit plaza, requires less grading and filling
- Preinkert alignment has minimum 62 feet between building, limited space for pedestrian and bicycle facilities, transit plaza must be built, will run through historic quad and next to chapel and large tree
- Campus Dr alignment has existing transit plaza at center of campus
- Preinkert alignment will require new transit plaza, and in addition the Campus Dr transit plaza may still be needed
- Campus Dr alignment will cost UM $44 million
- Preinkert option will cost UM $50.2 million plus cost of new transit plaza
- Vibration & EMI effects are not a significant issue for either alignment
So it appears there is absolutely no good argument for the Preinkert alignment. Let’s get with it, UM administrators! The Campus Drive alignment will help make UM’s physical environment world-class — and that’s what everyone wants, isn’t it?
May 12th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
Rebecca Kavoussi
HISP200-0104-Extra Credit
due: 17 May 2008
Although I can see the practicality of a light rail ranging from Bethesda to New Carrollton, I do not think this Purple Line should cut through the University of Maryland campus. As a current student of the University of Maryland, it is hard for me to fathom a light rail track existing on Campus Drive or even Stadium Drive for that matter. Although I will have graduated by the time the current proposal is carried out, I simply think that the line will do more harm instead of good for our campus. The fact that students would not be able to take a light rail from East Campus to main campus and from campus to the metro seems unnecessary considering the budget will cost millions of dollars. One of my favorite parts of being a student here is walking to class and seeing my fellow peers, and a transit-line depersonalizes campus. Also, with the college park metro bus operating sufficiently as it does, it seems like a waste of money to replace it with a light rail. I think the university needs to focus more on construction that will benefit the campus community as a whole such as more housing (the East Campus Housing Initiative). I acknowledge the fact that public transportation is beneficial in terms of the environment, however considering most of the vehicular traffic on campus is not necessarily from the Bethesda or New Carrollton area; it will not deter people from driving their cars. The construction alone will rip up the campus for a long time. Not to mention the disturbance the light rail will cause. I feel it is important to diversify our campus however it makes me feel uneasy that any person could ride the light rail and get off right in the middle of campus when before they may never had had the chance too. The university already experiences petty and often dangerous crimes, and a stop on campus would only perpetuate crime. If a Purple Line is even necessary at all at least have the College Park stop be not at the heart of the University of Maryland campus. I realize the inevitability of change however a transit line on the University property will just emphasize the deterioration of our land. Since the University started as an Agricultural school it seems ironic that a rail road track would be constructed on the campus.
The rethink college park website claims that the purple line will “help the university do its part to combat global warming” because it will restrict vehicular traffic on campus (an eliminated 7 out of 9 vehicles on campus per minute). Although campus would restrict traffic, most of those vehicle owners are not coming necessarily from the Bethesda or New Carrolton area and therefore will operate their vehicles anyway. Also, as a student who lives off of campus, there have been times when I am running late to a class and a friend drops me off. With limited vehicular traffic on campus then this luxury would no longer exist. “Aristotelian Space is the concept of a “city as the community made up of communities”. It also is the idea that public concerns “constrain” private interests. It seems a transit stop on campus defies this concept in that the true benefactor in the scenario is the owner of the light rail; and not the community as a whole. Urbanization is an ongoing force in our world today; and although I acknowledge it is inevitable, I do not think it needs to be perpetuated in the University of Maryland community. When is one is reading or lounging on McKeldin mall the sound of a roaring light-rail will harm if not destroy the historic character of our campus.
May 13th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
I would like to discuss the proposed Purple Line. Don’t get me wrong I think it would be a great thing to have a rail system that connected New Carrolton, College Park, Silver Spring, and Bethesda. However I don’t think that having it go through campus is the best idea in the world. The University has enough problems with construction, and a bigger concern should be housing, and not putting a light rail through the middle of campus. Ideally I think the best situation would be if the on campus Purple Line stop was at the new proposed East Campus. The land that the University plans to use for East Campus is pretty decrepit right now, and could use some new renovations. What this University really needs right now is some new high brow housing facilities with high brow retail. This could help draw in many new students and possibly even raise the ranking of the University because it would go a long way to fixing the housing problem. Unfortunately the priority for the state and the University seems to be building this light rail. I feel like they are so interested in getting this done because they have recently encountered some problems with getting past the cities historic districts. One of the proposed lines would go right by Morrill Hall which is one of the oldest buildings on campus. They feel that it would not be right to disrupt the historic places of this campus. I think that this problem has a way bigger scale than most people realize, and it affects almost every student who attends this University. The City of College Park in my opinion would like to believe that the University of Maryland is totally separate from the city. They believe that the stone wall around campus is really a boundary or fence that should not be crossed. The city is very stingy about selling land to private contractors to build more housing for students. There are houses that are condemned in College Park but cannot be renovated because they are part of historic College Park and it would be illegal to change certain parts of these houses. College Park does not accept that it is a college town, and that almost all of the business that route one receives is from people who attend this University. If the town makes it harder for people to live off campus, and the University is doing little to nothing about fixing the housing problem then more people are going to commute. If they have more people commuting there will be more traffic, and now they want to start construction on East Campus and the Purple Line. This will only create more traffic, and more hassle for the students who have not been awarded housing so they have to commute. It really makes the University look bad. College Park should consider getting rid of this historic district and give the students a chance to really enjoy their college experience. Seniors shouldn’t have to be worried about getting ready for graduation, finding a job, and commuting to campus everyday in hours of traffic. There are also many students from out of state and if they don’t get housing then they are pretty much out of luck. The University and the State of Maryland should be more concerned about actually making College Park “A Livable Community” like their sign says and then they can build the purple line. In the long run the purple line will hopefully have a great effect on the campus but it shouldn’t be first on our list of things to be built.