Media Center

Montgomery County Transportation Planners Identify Issues for Planning Board Review of Proposed Purple Line

SILVER SPRING – In response to a Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) report specifying alternative approaches for the Purple Line, Montgomery County transportation planners will brief the Planning Board in early December on key issues to consider as Board members form a local recommendation for the project.

On January 8, the Board will hold a public hearing on the Purple Line to inform its decision on a recommendation for the route and type of transit – light rail or bus rapid transit – for the Montgomery County section of the Purple Line. The Board’s recommendation will go to the County Council and then to MTA, which will make the final decision.

The Purple Line, a proposed 16-mile light rail or bus rapid transit line, would run from Bethesda to New Carrollton and provide direct connections to Metrorail, local and inter-city bus and the MARC train.

In preparation for the January decision, the Board has invited MTA on December 8 to review key issues in a work session format. No public testimony will be accepted.

Also in advance of the January hearing, the Board’s transportation planning staff will present some of the main issues to its advisory group, among them:

• Ridership data for each Purple Line segment contrasted for bus rapid transit and light rail
• Funding opportunities and constraints
• Whether the route should run along Jones Bridge Road between Bethesda and Jones Mill Road
• How the Purple Line route might impact the Georgetown Branch trail, a popular bikeway along which the county and state have acquired right-of-way for an eventual transit route
• How to accommodate the route through downtown Silver Spring and East Silver Spring

The public is welcome to speak at the Board’s January 8 public hearing, although Chairman Royce Hanson is encouraging people to send written testimony, which can be of any length, given the large number of people who may wish to be heard. Written testimony should be received by noon on January 2. Testimony will be limited to two hours, with each speaker receiving no more than three minutes.

People wishing to sign up to speak on January 8 will need to specify which segment of the Montgomery County Purple Line they wish to address – Bethesda/Chevy Chase; Silver Spring; Long Branch/Takoma/Langley; or the entire length – using the online sign-up system available in late December on the Planning Board website or by calling 301/495-4600.

Department of Parks Sets Sights on Public Agency Solution for Historic Warner Property as it Cancels RFP Process

KENSINGTON, MD—Today the Montgomery County Department of Parks announced it will cancel its request for proposals (RFP), issued in February 2008, to solicit ideas from interested businesses and non-profits for Kensington’s historic Warner property. The Department of Parks is now considering a public agency solution for reuse of the property.

“We’re turning our sights now to public entities, including ourselves and the Town of Kensington, for instance, as a possible best fit for this historic site,” said Department of Parks Legacy Open Space Program Manager Brenda Sandberg.

The proposals submitted in response to the department’s RFP require significant public financial investment. At this time, the necessary funding to make the submitted proposals viable is not available.

“Our intent with this RFP was to find a potential private partner, but we were unable to do so through this process,” added Sandberg. “So, we’re ramping up our efforts to find the best reuse options for the property consistent with our adopted public policy objectives for the site—we think that might be a public agency.”  

The public policy objectives for the site have developed over the past two years with input from the Town of Kensington and other local community organizations. The Montgomery County Planning Board approved these objectives in 2006. They are as follows:

• Historic preservation; 
• Open space preservation;
• Provision of another public benefit;
• Maintenance of the site as a cultural resource, including public access to the grounds and the historic house and carriage house; and
• Community compatibility.

“As we move forward we will continue to work closely with the Town of Kensington and those local community groups—who have been of tremendous support through this process—during this next phase of planning,” said Sandberg.

The Department of Parks identified the Warner property as a heritage resource in 2001 through its Legacy Open Space program and completed the transfer of the 4.45-acre Kensington property into public ownership in September 2007.  The Warner property at 10231 Carroll Place sits on the circular tract of land at the heart of Kensington’s historic district. The site includes the circa 1891-1914 historic house and carriage barn and circa 1960 nursing home addition to the house. The 19th century house with carriage barn was home to Brainard H. Warner, the founder of the Town of Kensington.

The Department of Parks released its RFP to solicit reuse ideas for Kensington’s historic Warner property on February 8 and held several pre-proposal meetings with interested businesses, developers, non-profit organizations and others to discuss project parameters, submission guidelines and to tour the property. 

To learn more about the Department of Parks’ Legacy Open Space program and what’s next for the Warner property, visit www.LegacyOpenSpace.org.

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Contact: 
Kelli Holsendolph
Media Relations Manager
Montgomery County Department of Parks
301-650-2866