Purple Line Update

One piece of good and one piece of bad news for supporters and opponents of the Purple Line. Transportation Secretary John Porcari announced the Environmental Impact Study (or is it Survey?) will be delayed by a year for the Purple Line so the timetable for moving on that project has been moved back by at least a year. And don't forget that next year is when the rubber will meet the road in terms of figuring out how to deal with the State's exisiting structural deficit even before we figure out how to pay for new transportation projects.

Apparently, there was also a glitch in doing the math on the ridership estimates. Porcari says that projected ridership is 20-25% higher than originally suspected for the Purple Line. Of course, 20-25% higher than exactly what number is rather critical to whether this is a viable transportation project but Purple Line supporters undoubtedly regard this report as good new. Nevertheless, Porcari appeared to throw cold water on the ridership of the Purple Line in an interview with the Gazette despite his past strong support for the Purple Line.