Progress on the Purple Line
April 21, 2012
This year’s draft County Council budget represents an important victory for one of the county’s top priorities: supporting the Purple Line.

The Purple Line is a light rail (not Metro size) project linking
While the Purple Line is a State-funded project also seeking federal funding, the County has an important role to play in making it happen. The County’s 1988 acquisition of a train-track right-of-way between
The new
To my surprise and dismay, in his recommended capital improvements program the County Executive Leggett recommended delaying all construction money for the new entrance to Fiscal Year 2019 or later. The Executive told the Council that since the federal government had not yet approved construction funds for the Purple Line, the County should budget no money for related projects. Furthermore, he argued that the County’s commitment of money for the
The County Council unanimously disagreed. We want the Purple Line. It is an important investment in the future of our economy and our community. And we believe that withdrawing funding would send a signal to our partners in
A related project is the Capital Crescent Trail. The State and County both recognize that a completed, paved pedestrian and bicycle trail between
Another related project is the Silver Spring Green Trail, an 8-10-foot-wide path that will run along the north side of
Ultimately, the Purple Line’s fate depends on whether federal and State funding will be available. But the County Council has taken a stand that the County will do everything in its power to make sure that the Purple Line – and the