Delivering on the Promise of the Purple Line

The Washington Post
By Gerrit Knaap, Published: May 2

When funding for the Purple Line appeared in President Obama’s budget in March, the light-rail project connecting Montgomery and Prince George’s counties began to take on an air of inevitability. To be sure, critical steps and uncertainty remain, but Maryland transit officials are planning to break ground on the 16-mile line next year. “When,” not “if,” has become the appropriate question.

The Purple Line can deliver many social and economic benefits. But the checkered history of light-rail projects around the nation tells us that these will not fully materialize unless we actively plan for them. Concerns about employment, housing, construction disruptions and the like will fall through the cracks. The promise of this project could disintegrate into myriad problems.

Read the rest of the Op Ed article at The Washington Post.