NCSG-Led Report Pushes Strategies for Affordable Housing, Trail Access, Economic Development and More Along Purple Line Corridor

U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland) speaks Wednesday at a news conference at a planned Purple Line stop in Silver Spring. The event highlighted the release of a report to stakeholders by the Purple Line Corridor Coalition and the University of Maryland’s National Center for Smart Growth. Photo by Jelena Djakovic

New affordable housing near transit stops, improved pedestrian safety and small business preservation along the coming Purple Line are needed to protect and strengthen the surrounding communities, according to a new report released Wednesday to federal, state and local stakeholders by the Purple Line Corridor Coalition (PLCC) and the University of Maryland’s National Center for Smart Growth.

Led by the center in partnership with the Maryland Department of Transportation and the Maryland Transit Administration, the report for policymakers is the culmination of a multiyear effort to advance equitable transit-oriented development ahead of the anticipated 2026 opening of the light-rail line.

The release event for the report, held Wednesday at the Brigadier General Charles E. McGee Library in Silver Spring, was attended by national, state and local politicians and activists, and was covered by the Washington Post, Montgomery Community Media, Bethesda Magazine, and WTOP News.