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October 1, 2001 VIA FACSIMILE Montgomery County Council Re: October 2, 2001, County Council Public Forum on Purple Line Dear President Ewing and Honorable Members of the Council: I am writing as president of the Kemp Mill Civic Association ("KMCA") to comment on the proposed new Purple Line to be added to the Metrorail system. The KMCA represents over 1600 households in the Kemp Mill area, which is immediately adjacent to one of the proposed Purple Line routes (the "Outer Line" proposal). Accordingly, as you might imagine, our residents harbor a keen interest in this issue. Unfortunately, because the forum is scheduled to take place on a Jewish religious holiday (the second night of Sukkot), I will be unable to attend, but ask that the Council accept this written submission in my stead. We understand that currently two proposals for the Purple Line in Montgomery County are under consideration - an "Outer Line" that would traverse Kemp Mill from White Oak through to Wheaton, and an "Inner Line" that would cross from downtown Silver Spring to Bethesda (avoiding Kemp Mill entirely). The KMCA plans formally to address the merits of the Outer Line proposal at its next quarterly general membership meeting in December. (We concluded our meeting for the past quarter before becoming aware of the Council's intended timetable for action on the Purple Line issue.) It is my expectation that the result of that discussion will be the adoption of a formal position of support or opposition. We appreciate why the Council feels the need to make its recommendation to the Governor expeditiously. Nevertheless, we are concerned that, if that recommendation is made without the opportunity for organized input from the communities most affected, it may not reflect the sentiments of residents. To this point, we are not aware of any concerted effort to enlist local civic groups in the decision-making process. The materials that the Council has made available on its website - and the laudable decision to hold a public forum on the issue -- represent welcome first steps, but alone do not suffice. The KMCA asks that the Council and the County work to ensure that the KMCA and other civic groups that would be directly impacted by the Line are provided with the further information necessary to adopt an informed position and that we continue to play a role in the route selection process beyond this public forum. In the interim, until we have had the opportunity to formulate a formal position, I feel able to make several points: First, I believe virtually all of our members support the expansion of Metro to include a cross-suburb Purple Line that connects Maryland and Virginia counties. Metro's growing ridership and the increasing congestion on our roadways make commencement of construction on the Line an urgent priority and more than warrant the expenditure of necessary State and Federal funds. Second, and just as importantly, our members believe that, because the construction of the Line will have an immediate and significant impact on our community and our quality of life (whether that impact is viewed as positive or negative), we should be consulted closely and our views taken into consideration in the fashioning of any final position by the Council or the County Executive. We think that a significant factor in the County's evaluation of alternatives should be the impact of the Line on the existing character of the surrounding communities. While at this time we are unable to take a position on either the Inner or Outer Line proposals, we are concerned with the disruption that an Outer Line route would entail, including during both its construction and eventual operation. To that end, whether, in fact, an Outer Line would be under- or above-ground (we understand that, at present, it is planned as underground), whether a stop in the Kemp Mill area is contemplated (we understand that, at present, one is not), and what we could expect during construction of the Line all would be significant factors in our members' decision-making. I would be happy to discuss these issues further with any member of the
Council at his or her convenience. I also will plan to communicate the KMCA's
eventual decision on the proposals following our December meeting. Many thanks for the opportunity to submit these brief comments. Respectfully submitted, Behnam Dayanim cc: Harvey Lieber, Chair, KMCA Planning Committee |
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