As plans for the Purple Line chug along, some residents along the proposed Wayne Avenue route want the light-rail line at least six feet under.
“Do Wayne Avenue, but do it underground,” Susan Andrea, an area resident, said at last week’s citizens advisory board meeting.
Proposed alignments drafted by the state transit administration roll a Purple Line route down Wayne Avenue at street level . However, members of the Seven Oaks-Evanswood Civic Association worry about how reserved Purple Line lanes would affect auto traffic.
“Unlike Metro, it [the Purple Line] will be above ground, and that’s unusual to have it going down the middle of the street,” Wayne Avenue resident Jonathan Jay told the board. “It’ll cause a lot of traffic.”
Dedicated Purple Line lanes also could knock out on-street parking along Wayne Avenue, reps for the state transit administration have said. It’s a concern for members of Silver Spring’s citizens advisory board and urban district committee, because some homes on Wayne Avenue do not have driveways or other off-street options.
“Let’s take care of the residents,” Jay implored. “If we’re going to build a Purple Line, let’s do it right.”
Silver Spring’s transportation committee will continue to discuss the matter, advisory board chairperson Debbie Spielberg said.
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>>> “If we’re going to build a Purple Line, let’s do it right.”
Isn’t that the crux of the problem? It seems like MD doesn’t have the cash to do the purple line underground, so we’re forced to make a difficult decision between having an important east-west transit option above ground where it will cause some problems for the community, or not having it at all. The homeowners who will be most directly impacted have made it clear that they’d rather not have the line. What does the rest of the community think?