Is UMD an Ardent Supporter and Outright Champion of the Purple Line?… SGA Hosting Purple Line Forum Tuesday
April 30th, 2010 | by David Daddio | Published in Purple Line, Transportation
To RTCP, the planned closure of Campus Drive to cars and buses is fundamentally connected with the UMD administration’s desire to avoid the Campus Drive alignment of the Purple Line and turn the road into a “pedestrian walking mall.” Whether such a proposal is the best course for the campus community or not, the Campus Drive alignment continues to be the only prudent and feasible east-west light rail route through campus. The Campus Master Plan envisions an internal campus bus loop connected to regional bus transportation on the periphery of campus… an outmoded concept that doesn’t take into account the technical constraints or funding realities of the Purple Line. It’s time for the University to embrace the real intra-campus and regional strategic transportation benefits that the Purple Line will provide. Anything less is obstructionism… a position that is tantamount to a rejection of the entire 16-mile project.
The administration is attempting to rearrange long-established bus routes that will only have to be moved back to Campus Drive once the Purple Line light rail is built. Many bus routes (Shuttle UM & WMATA) can be eliminated with the establishment of the Purple Line, but Shuttle UM’s central campus hub will have to be next to the campus Purple Line stop in front of the Student Union to achieve the highest possible ridership… it’s time for UMD to become another ardent supporter and outright champion of the Purple Line.
“The university does not seem to want to address the reality of the situation, which is that the line [alignment] they want is really not possible,” Daddio said. “They don’t seem to be properly engaged with the state [MTA] or they would have come to the conclusion by now that at the end of the day it’s not possible to do what they want to do.”
Come out and voice your opinion about the planned closure of Campus Drive. The Student Government Association’s forum will be held Tuesday (May 4th) from 4 to 5 p.m. in the Margaret Brent Room of the Stamp Student Union. (RSVP ON FACEBOOK)
—> A good Diamondback article on the salient issues (4/29/10)
—> Earlier Diamondback article with good RTCP quotes (4/28/10)
—> An excellent analysis by Diamondback writer Mardy Shualy (4/27/10)
What’s your take?
