Proposed Purple Line Colors Contest for Md. Governor

Both Candidates Back Md. Transit Proposal

The Purple Line, a proposed rail or bus link between Bethesda and New Carrollton, has emerged as a point of contention in the Maryland governor's race, with both candidates jockeying to outdo each other in demonstrating their newfound enthusiasm for a project they consider key to wooing voters in two of Washington's most populous suburbs.

In recent weeks, the candidates -- Baltimore's Democratic Mayor Martin O'Malley and Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. -- have more definitively pledged their support of the 14-mile line from Bethesda in Montgomery County to New Carrollton in Prince George's County. Polls have shown that voters in these suburban counties want relief from the traffic congestion that they consider a threat to their quality of life.

O'Malley made his first appearance at a pro-Purple Line event yesterday, calling the project one of his top transportation priorities just days after Ehrlich told The Washington Post that his administration supported the project and was "moving ahead."

But O'Malley criticized Ehrlich for what he characterized as tepid commitment to the project, based partly on Ehrlich's decision to study a rapid-bus system, as well as a light-rail link. Many Purple Line supporters oppose the bus option.

"We say we need mass transit. They say you need fast buses," O'Malley said at the rally at the Hampshire-Langley Shopping Center parking lot in Langley Park. "They tell us, 'You'll take the fast buses, and you'll like it.' "

Maryland Transportation Secretary Robert L. Flanagan said that O'Malley has only recently made the Purple Line, also known as the Bi-County Transitway, an important piece of his transportation plan.

"We're happy to see that he's finally figured out where the Bi-County Transitway is," Flanagan said during an interview.

The Purple Line is one of Ehrlich's top three transit priorities, Flanagan said. The state has committed $120 million to it and related projects, he said. An environmental impact study is underway, and construction could begin in 2010.

"The governor is absolutely committed to this project and absolutely committed to the Corridor Cities Transitway and the Red Line in Baltimore," he said, referring to the other projects.

Robert J. Smith, who served as Ehrlich's Metro board appointee until he was fired in June, cast doubt on the governor's commitment to the Purple Line in a July opinion piece in The Post, saying the Republican administration "is leading a prolonged attempt to obfuscate, alter, study and delay the project so as not to face up to the fact that, without a tax increase, the project is underfunded."

Just a few months ago, the Purple Line, which could cost $375 million to $1.6 billion, seemed destined for perpetual debate, as Ehrlich focused on getting approval for the intercounty connector, a highway that would link Interstate 270 and Interstate 95 outside the Capital Beltway.

Yesterday's rally was a clear sign that now that the connector is on its way to being built, politicians are turning their attention to the Purple Line.

The audience was filled with candidates for various Montgomery and Prince George's offices, including Montgomery executive candidate and council member Steven A. Silverman (D-At Large) and Prince George's executive candidate Rushern L. Baker III (D) and their supporters. The speakers included several politicians, including U.S. Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.).

Support for the project is high, according to polls. A poll conducted late last year by the independent research firm Potomac Inc. found that 78 percent of 800 likely Democratic voters in Montgomery supported a light-rail Purple Line.

"I think it's going to be a huge issue," said Webb Smedley, chairman of the Coalition to Build the Inner Purple Line. "Our infrastructure is deteriorating."

But the Purple Line has opponents, particularly those who worry that it could destroy the nearby Capital Crescent Trail and those who live in neighborhoods that the line would cut through. Many residents said they would be more amenable to an underground heavy-rail system similar to what Metro uses.

"It will destroy the trail," said Pam Browning, a Chevy Chase resident who organized an anti-Purple Line petition. "It will clear-cut thousands of trees. It will run trains within 10 feet of the trail and close to hundreds of apartments and houses along the trail in Bethesda, Chevy Chase and Silver Spring."

O'Malley and Ehrlich have said they would explore having above-ground rail in some areas and tunneling in others but have not specified those locations.