Purple line burps in College Park

3 Alignments
Originally uploaded by RethinkCollegePark

Image from RethinkCollegePark. UMD administrators have proposed the Stadium Drive alignment (in Orange) which differs dramatically from MTA's preferred alignment along Campus Drive (in Purple).

UMD officials have pissed off a lot of people because they have suggested that the Purple Line light rail line be routed not along Campus Drive within the main university campus, but on a "back road" that better serves the athletic facilities.

Campus Drive is engorged with cars much of the day and night, so I personally prefer the routing originally proposed. The Athletic Director prefers serving the athletic facilities--my joke is that we should appreciate the University's newfound enthusiasm for transit (however misdirected), but for much of the time these facilities are not offering events that serve as destinations for many people, forcing a lengthening of the overall trip, and reduced access to key destinations.

Also, I guess the developers of the East Campus thing, Foulger-Pratt, would rather that the Purple Line be a little more north in order to not eat up any possible bit of land that they could otherwise build upon.

See "Seeing Purple," from the UMD-CP student newspaper, the Diamondback, "UMD Ignores Burden of Proof on the Purple Line,"Intercollegiate Athletics Weighs in On Purple Line Debate,"and "Debunking Light Rail Myths With YouTube," from Rethink College Park, and "Officials rail against Metro location plans," from the Gazette.

The Portland Streetcar passes through the plaza in front of Portland State University's College of Urban and Public Affairs. Image from Rethink College Park.

I would say that UMD could create a streetcar spur to serve the athletic facilities, like the Cleveland Waterfront Line, that serves the football stadium and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but looking at the distance from Campus Drive, I think people can walk without spending millions more for a streetcar line.

Photo by Mike Kepika of the San Francisco Chronicle. People leaving the streetcars to see a Giants game at PacBell Park.