MTA Declares War on Chevy Chase, Part One

Late last year, the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) released its Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) on the Purple Line. The DEIS is many things. It is a description of multiple alignments and modes proposed for the Purple Line. It is an analysis of costs and benefits for the project. And it is also a Declaration of War on rail opponents in the Town of Chevy Chase.

But first, a bit of background on the project. The Purple Line is a transit project intended to connect Bethesda and New Carrollton. It has gone through various iterations over the years. One of the earliest versions of the line was envisioned as a trolley between Bethesda and Silver Spring. In 1988, the county purchased a rail right-of-way that had been abandoned by CSX for $10.5 million for the purpose of building both a transit line and a hiker-biker trail. The Bethesda-Chevy Chase Master Plan of 1990 stated:

Use of the route for transit would provide an alternative to driving on East-West Highway and Jones Bridge Road. It would assist those people who rely primarily on local public transit. The key to attractive, successful transit service is providing reliable, speedy service. The Georgetown Branch provides an existing travel corridor that could readily be adapted for transit use.

Over time, part of the right-of-way evolved into the very popular Capital Crescent Trail. The trail functions as a continuous pedestrian and bike corridor from the Jones Mill Road/Jones Bridge Road intersection through the grounds of the Columbia Country Club, the boundaries of the Town of Chevy Chase, west into Bethesda and beyond. The portion of the right-of-way east of Jones Mill Road has never been finished as a trail and winds through neighborhood streets in Silver Spring. But the finished part of the trail is a treasured community amenity in the areas around Chevy Chase and has created a large, active constituency to protect it.

What does the trail need protecting from? Some see any rail alignment on the trail as a threat to the trail’s viability. As proposals have surfaced over the years to use the right-of-way for both of its original purposes – a rail line with a trail alongside it – some of the trail’s defenders have mobilized in opposition. The Columbia Country Club sees any rail through its grounds as a threat to its golf course and has cooperated with the Ehrlich administration to promote a bus-rapid-transit (BRT) route along Jones Bridge Road as an alternative. Under the O’Malley administration, light rail and bus alignments on the trail and a bus alignment along Jones Bridge Road are being evaluated for the Purple Line.

As the state advanced its planning for the Purple Line, the Town of Chevy Chase financed a study by transportation consultant Sam Schwartz calling for a BRT route on Jones Bridge Road. Many residents of the Town believe a Jones Bridge Road alignment is superior to a trail alignment for the following reasons:

1. In a few places, they believe the right-of-way would be too narrow to safely house both a light rail line and a hiker/biker trail.

2. Construction of a rail line on the trail would involve substantial loss of mature trees and have other negative environmental consequences.

3. Bus lines are cheaper than rail lines.

4. A Jones Bridge Road alignment would connect directly to the Medical Center on Wisconsin Avenue, a facility about to undergo a significant expansion due to the federal government’s BRAC plans.

But as vigorous as Town residents have been in their advocacy, MTA’s DEIS has rejected almost every one of their arguments. While the DEIS does not make an alignment recommendation, MTA’s data stacks up so overwhelmingly against a Jones Bridge BRT alignment that it is difficult to imagine that they will pick the Town’s favored alternative. To illustrate our point, MPW has summoned its crack bureaucratese translation team to reveal the extent to which MTA has shot down the Town’s proposal.

Translation begins in Part Two.