The Purple Line construction site running through the Chevy Chase Lake area gives an idea of the environmental destruction that would result if the light rail line were extended to Westbard and Sumner Place from downtown Bethesda. Such a plan is secretly in the works in the back rooms of the Montgomery County cartel. Pay no attention to those developers behind the curtain!!
So this "environmental destruction " is a-ok to you, but if it getsclose to your neighborhood it is not.
ReplyDeleteIf only there was a word or acronym for that attitude...
You realize that at ConnecticutAvenue, a light rail bridge and CCT bridge will be built over the roadway. This is likely why the construction area is so large near the intersection. This would not be true at Westbard as the rail bed already exists at the proper elevation.
ReplyDeleteNow that the Westbard project appears to be fully entitled, I would think you would be more supportive of a short extension of the Purple Line to make it the new west end node on the new light rail line. You complain that the density is too great in the new plan, so why not get behind a plan that might fix what you perceive as a problem?
I still suggest that for this last leg to Westbard, perhaps a single rail track, with reversible travel, combined with a revised CCT, separated by a fence, could really help minimize the width of the combination. As I said, the grade is already set. Of course the bridges over Bradley and River Road would need to be rebuilt. Such a one way single track width could accommodate a Bethesda “turn back” system, with every other, or every third train extending west to Westbard, before returning east to Bethesda. Of course this would be a very expensive extension to accommodate a rather modest amount of ridership. It really only makes sense if more massive western extension is really ever contemplated, like an extension to Tyson’s. For now, a simple shuttle bus system between Westbard and the Bethesda and Friendship Heights Metro bus loops would be much more appropriate.
Imagine the environmental destruction that would result if the 8-lane "master plan" freeways about which Robert Dyer constantly fantasizes were all built.
ReplyDelete"Such a plan is secretly in the works in the back rooms of the Montgomery County cartel"
ReplyDeleteActually that would be a good idea, but alas it's just another of Dyer's tin-foil hat conspiracy theories.
Lol the so-called environmental destruction is a mere drop in the bucket compared to the clear cutting and demolition required for Dyer's fantasy bridge to Virginia.
ReplyDeleteAs well as for the Mid-County Highway, the Rockville Facility, the Northern Parkway, and I-270 inside the Beltway.
ReplyDeleteWhat's wrong with extending to Westbard? Hasn't the complaint been that all the new housing would be far from public transportation so it would add more cars to the roads? Wouldn't this address that issue?
ReplyDeleteNO NO NO. NOT WESTBARD!!!! IT IS END DAYS!!!
ReplyDeleteI think David Alpert and most of GGW including their sponsored county council candidates support extending the Purple Line to at least Westbard, maybe Sumner Place and on to Tysons. With the amount of development in Westbard on the table it will soon be time for this fast and easy extension. in fact the County already purchased the key missing piece of land at Bethesda Row as well as the future Westbard station site by the McDonalds. It is only a matter of time before there is official talk of these backdoor plans
ReplyDelete10:37: Oh, yeah, those land purchases were a dead giveaway.
ReplyDelete11:44: There's no way to fit the full Purple Line infrastructure west of downtown Bethesda without massive environmental destruction
9:28: The highway facilities were set aside decades ago for that purpose - to build the needed highways.
6:21: Wouldn't they have to build a similar bridge over busy River Road, which is also a major commuter route?
"The highway facilities were set aside decades ago for that purpose - to build the needed highways."
ReplyDeleteWe've been through this before, many times. There is nothing west of the end of Sam Eig Highway.
There is nothing inside the Beltway.
There is Turkey Branch Park, but that is a park, not a "highway facility". That would require "massive environmental destruction" to build the Rockville Facility.
The Council needs to get up to speed on the highway facilities available for transport improvements ASAP. Time to charter another Ride On bus for a field trip!
ReplyDeleteExtending the purple line above ground along the CCT to Westbard or beyond would likely destroy the CCT and the Little Falls Stream Valley Park, the most heavily used parks in the Montgomery County Park System. There may be another way to build such an extension that would be less harmful, but I certainly don't know what that would look like. Conceptually, I like the idea of extending it, I just don't see the feasibility of it.
ReplyDelete