MD moves ahead with the DC Purple Line and Baltimore Red Line

Governor O'Malley sent out the following email Tuesday afternoon:

Three years ago we came together united by a statewide vision for transportation that includes mass transit and roads -- and today I've got some great progress to announce in our work to make Maryland smart, green, and growing.

This morning I announced our plans to move forward on the construction of the Purple Line, a light-rail line that will run between Bethesda in Montgomery County and New Carrollton in Prince George's County.

The Purple Line won't just help us reduce traffic congestion and the air pollution that comes with it. It'll also give Marylanders an inexpensive, reliable, and environmentally friendly way to reach the places where they work, play, and worship.

How will the Purple Line affect your daily life? I want to hear what you think -- please share your thoughts here:

http://www.martinomalley.com/PurpleLine

At 16 miles, the new line will connect major employment and activity centers to residential areas. It'll also link up three MARC commuter rail lines, Amtrak, and local bus services.

The Purple Line project will now be submitted to the Federal Transit Administration as we seek approvals to begin engineering work and secure $1.5 billion in federal funding to complete the project.

Along with the Purple Line, we're also moving forward this week on the Red Line -- a light-rail project in Baltimore that will better connect East and West Baltimore to each other and to regional transportation lines.

These investments mark the beginning of the next generation of Maryland's transit system, and it's a new era that will yield benefits for commuters and non-commuters alike.

Take a moment now to share your thoughts on how the Purple Line will affect you:

http://www.martinomalley.com/PurpleLine

I look forward to hearing your comments!

Thank you,

Gov. Martin O'Malley

This is a major step forward in improving our regional transportation infrastructure. The next step will be to connect the two metro systems. A couple years ago I laid out on this blog one example of how this could be done to maximize the ridership density needed to bring in revenue to the system, reduce congestion on local roads and enabling managed growth in already developed areas, and protect and improve the county property tax base for many years into the future, while staying committed to being a mixed income community.