Chevy Chase Mayor Writes Hogan About Purple Line Flaws

In an open letter to Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan on Thursday, Chevy Chase Mayor Kathy Strom encourages a more careful and close examination to the Purple Line project.

Reports Thursday show Hogan has retained state funding for the new railway as part of his first state budget, Patch previously reported.

The 16-mile route of the proposed light-rail between Bethesda and New Carrollton would make stops at the University of Maryland, Silver Spring and Takoma Park amongst other major population centers in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties.

The project received approval in March 2014 for state authorities to begin condemning property needed, but over 116 home and business owners will have to vacate their property for the new railway, The Washington Post reports.

The Coalition for Smarter Growth executive director Stewart Schwartz applauded Hogan’s decision Thursday, but Strom’s sentiments are not quite the same.

Here is a copy of Mayor Strom’s letter to Gov. Hogan.

Dear Governor Hogan:

Once again, the Town of Chevy Chase Council joins me in wishing you the very best of luck as you embark on your first term as the Governor of Maryland. We know that many challenges lay ahead for you, as well as for each of us who are elected to represent the interests of the citizens of Maryland. We stand ready to work with you on their behalf.

One matter that we know has your attention is the proposed Purple Line light rail project. You have heard, and probably will continue to hear, from citizens, special interest groups and other elected officials with passionate positions both for and against this project. Some elected officials even wrote to you recently asking that you spend money on the project without any further examination by you or your Administration. We respectfully disagree and encourage you to closely examine this project and its many flaws.

From the true cost of building and maintaining the line, to the number of projected riders and the real economic impacts on communities served by the line, concrete, fact-based numbers are difficult to find. This was made clear to us when our request for information from the O’Malley Administration resulted in volumes of encrypted data that we were told could only be deciphered with “proprietary software.” The State informed us that we would need to purchase the software directly from the engineering firm that it had paid to put the data together in the first place. This lack of transparency and tangible information has been discouraging and is unacceptable.

Enclosed, please find the encrypted material sent to us by the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) on behalf of your predecessor. We would ask that your staff examine the material, decode it and objectively review the real financial, economic and environmental impacts not only on the citizens of the Town of Chevy Chase, but on all citizens of Maryland. Furthermore, we would ask that before any taxpayer dollars are spent on this or any other transportation project of this magnitude, that you make public the findings of your own administration’s careful and thorough examination.

The people of Maryland deserve clear, honest and objective information regarding how their money will be spent, and careful review of the Purple Line would be a suitable place to start.

Thank you for your kind consideration in this regard.

Sincerely,

Kathy Strom

Mayor