tonight’s agenda

the letters - 15 minutes

the work program going forward – 30 minutes

septa visit – 30 minutes

mta’s east silver spring presentation – 10 minutes

the letters – 15 minutes

objective – briefly discuss the issues raised in the letters

letters were constructive and professionally presented -

let’s make sure the discussion is as well

staff will follow-up with draft to be presented

to the chairman

one or two speak for each view – then let’s move on – we have a lot to cover
 P.O. Box 7074 Silver Spring, Md. 20907-7074
www.purplelinenow.com
Dr. Royce Hanson, Chair
Montgomery County Planning Board
8787 Georgia Avenue
Silver Spring, MD. 20910

Dear Dr. Hanson:

We are writing on behalf of supporters of the Purple Line who have been attending the Purple Line
Master Plan Advisory Group meetings either as members of the MPAG or as interested county
residents.

The MPAG was established to formulate master plan recommendations in close coordination with the
completion of the Purple Line project. While the Purple Line is a State project, the light rail transit
alternative now has unanimous support on the part of the Montgomery County Council, which will be
considering the master plan amendment expected to come out of the ongoing planning process.
Despite this political support for the Purple Line, and despite the best intentions of your capable staff,
it is our impression that an undue amount of meeting time has been spent revisiting issues that are
no longer politically relevant at the expense of those where county planning attention should rightfully
be focused. This has become a source of frustration to proponents of the Purple Line who hoped for
a constructive process geared toward moving the project forward in a community-friendly manner.

Part of the problem may result from a misperception on the part of some MPAG members that the
MPAG actually makes policy decisions. A clarification of the advisory nature of this group might help
members better understand their role.

We suggest the following approach to make for a more meaningful process.

Refocus the agenda

The Chairman, Board and staff must refocus the agenda to the issues of most concern to the County
Council. It may be appropriate to reconsider these in a meeting with the T&E Committee of the
Council.

Too much time has been spent on issues relating to the Georgetown Branch.

Not only has MTA expended tremendous resources on this segment, but the County’s master plan for
transportation already includes an approved amendment for the Bethesda to Silver Spring alignment
via the Georgetown Branch. While this amendment needs to be updated, it is inappropriate for the
MPAG to spend time questioning the basic premise – shared used of the Georgetown Branch for a
trail and transitway. We are confident that outstanding issues can be addressed successfully during
the design process which will, of course, include plenty of time for public input.

More emphasis should be placed on the Silver Spring and eastern Montgomery County issues.

More time should be devoted to fleshing out the concept of using the Purple Line to create a transit
and pedestrian-oriented boulevard on Wayne Avenue, as has been advocated by Silver Spring
Advocates. This has not been addressed in previous master plan work and is essential for ensuring a
successful project. Alternatives for the (Wayne Avenue) Green Trail also need to be reexamined if it
will be sharing the same right of way as the Purple Line.

A focus on urban design issues in Long Branch.

The look and feel of the Purple Line stop at Arliss and how to use the Purple Line as a component of
the desired revitalization of the Long Branch area is important work that has not yet begun.

Addressing the Sligo Creek crossing.

The crossing at Sligo Creek must be done in a manner that is environmentally sensitive and that this
issue has not yet been addressed by MTA to the satisfaction of the community. This may require
coordination of efforts between MTA, the Parks Department, DPWT and the School District. The
master plan amendment process cannot solve all of the Sligo Creek concerns, but it should lay out the
process for achieving a desirable outcome that ensures a positive impact on the impacted schools,
parks athletic fields, parking, etc.

Examine issues related to the segment along Piney Branch between the Long Branch stop on
Arliss and University.

The staff and MPAG need to evaluate details of this portion of the route now so that input to MTA will
be well considered in September.

A stronger educational component for MPAG members.

Field trips to see nearby light rail lines, good LRT videos, and presentations by speakers from
communities with successful projects would provide MPAG members with positive models that they
can use in their role of providing recommendations for the Purple Line Master plan.

We hope you will consider these comments in the helpful spirit in which they are intended.

Sincerely,

Harry Sanders, President Nancy Soreng, Vice President Webb Smedley, Chair

Michele Cornwell, Secretary Wayne Phyillaier, Treasurer

cc: Tom Autrey and Council-members:

Valerie Ervin Marc Elrich Mike Knapp
George Leventhal Duchy Trachtenburg Phil Andrews
Nancy Floreen Roger Berliner
 March 26, 2008
Dr. Royce Hanson, Chairman
Montgomery County Planning Board
8787 Georgia Avenue
Silver Spring, MD 20910

Dear Chairman Hanson:

We write to you as members of the Planning Board’s Purple Line Functional Master Plan Advisory
Group (MPAG) to object to the recent request by Harry Sanders, President, and the other officers of the
Purple Line Now advocacy group (PLN), to “refocus” the agenda on the Advisory Group. Our
understanding has always been that you sanctioned this advisory group to help you and the Planning
Board develop recommendations to the County Council for the Purple Line; it was not to focus our
work on pre-determined “issues of most concern to the County Council.”

Unfortunately, Mr. Sanders did not previously raise his organization’s recommendations with his
colleagues on the Advisory Group, but rather he attempted to impose PLN’s agenda on the Advisory
Group through your office. Therefore, we feel compelled to respond.

While we appreciate the difficulties and frustrations of working with such a diverse group, it is
incumbent upon every member of MPAG to contribute to the success of this advisory group by
respecting the very issues we were appointed to address. We do not object to community groups and
MPAG members asking MPAG to address matters of concern.

Regrettably, we feel that PLN is directly undermining the authority and tremendous effort of Mr. Tom
Autrey, who has been performing admirably in an extremely challenging environment. We believe that
the issues raised by PLN should be dealt with first within the MPAG and facilitated by Mr. Autrey.

The members of the MPAG are aware of our obligation with regard to the planning of the Purple Line
and do not have the “misperception” that we will be making policy decisions. Diversity of perspectives
was a prerequisite for the Planning Board in the formation of this Advisory Group and should not be
undone by prioritizing the issues of one advocacy group and its allies.

MPAG was not established to act as a forum merely to review one advocacy group’s interests or to
rubber-stamp recommended decisions of that advocacy group or members of the Council. We urge you
avoid that outcome by rejecting PLN’s recommendation to impose its proposed agenda and “focus” on
the MPAG.

Finally we want to point out that those signing this letter are limited to members who recently became
aware of PLN’s letter since it was not copied to MPAG members. It is our strong belief that other
members would have signed this letter had they been aware of it.

Sincerely,

Pat Bapiste Veda Charrow Karen FitzGerald

Jonathan Jay Caleb Kriesberg Ted Power
Chris Richardson Karen Roper Robert Rosenberg
David Saltzman Mier Wolf

Cc: County Council Members

Ike Leggett
Thomas Autrey
MPAG Members
mpag work program and schedule going forward – 30
minutes

to do

other cities’ experiences environmental background

follow-up field trip education component –
design considerations speakers, video, etc.

factors to consider

deis/aa now due in august smaller groups

reporting back to full
mta open house on may 14 group in july or early
our next full mpag meeting – may august may provide
20 more flexibility over
summer
ernie
pronkowotz of
SEPTA

ernie and
his team
answered
a lot of
questions

they still
return
our calls
– even
after the
visit!
estimating the street
widths
photo google gis

woodlawn avenue –
south of priscilla lane 40 42

state street - media 40 40

elmwood avenue 46 45

wayne avenue
45 45
– at dale
colesville road – 65 65
south of dale

colesville road – south 85 90

of sligo creek parkway
 woodland
avenue

two
tracks

parking
on both
sides

estimated
40 feet -
curb to
curb

11 5 8 5 11
woodlawn
avenue

estimated 40 to
42 feet

wayne
avenue – 49
feet –
11+27+11

parking off
peak only
12 minute headways
off peak
woodlawn
avenue on
the sharon
hill line

10 to 20 minute
peak period
service
7 6 3 5 4 5 3 6 7 46
estimated

elmwood avenue car width – 6’1”

light truck – 6’8”
track width – 5’2”
elmwood
avenue

estimated
46 feet
wide

•parking
•bike lane
•two tracks
•shared lanes
 elmwood
avenue – 46
feet estimated

wayne
avenue – 49
feet –
11+27+11
parking off
peak only
12 minute headways
off peak
more of elmwood
avenue
downtown
media pa

7 9 1 5 1 9 7

estimated 40 feet – curb to curb

The end of line
terminal point
is just beyond
orange street

more of media
– again, about
40 feet curb to
curb – one track
and parking on
both sides of
street – the
service runs
every 20
minutes
 the folks in media

are used to light

rail
yard and shop
for the
elmwood
avenue
service
through the
park
crossover prior to station
tunnel
portal
mta presentation on wayne avenue and longer tunnel – 10 minutes

major preliminary findings

shared lanes shared with additional left turn lanes work best
given other constraints and objective of keeping on street
parking

longer tunnel does not save time when compared with shorter tunnel

school access needs to be examined

with dale avenue station

access to/from whole foods needs to be re-examined

longer tunnel would add estimated $65 million and save ½ minute with
no station at dale ave. – mta checking cost estimate
presentation for community at roundhouse
theatre on april 28th