By Robert Thomson
Sunday, August 27, 2006

The Maryland Department of Transportation is studying where to place the 14-mile Bi-County Transitway, often called the Purple Line, and whether it should be a light-rail or rapid-bus system. It has become an important question for Maryland voters.

Dear Dr. Gridlock:

I lived in Montgomery County for several years and later moved into the District. When I was making the move to California, people were instantly critical of the lack of public transportation -- how it causes hours lost in traffic every week, pollutes the air and supports sprawl.

I appreciated the concern, but the reality is that traffic in and around the District is just as bad as, and in some places much worse than, Southern California's. Without major additions to Metro, the area will slowly grind to a halt. Southern California has proved that more pavement for highways does not ease congestion.

Building more highways, such as the intercounty connector, promotes nothing more than our traditional bad habits.

I know it is hard for the politicians to turn away all of those dollars from developers, automakers and oil giants. But for the sake of the region's overall future, I hope that a few of them can find the courage to leave the highway behind. America is stuck in a rut, and the Purple Line is a prime example of great ideas going to waste, getting lost in time and bureaucracy.

Maxwell Hessman

Los Angeles

The Silver Spring neighborhoods affected by the proposed Purple Line alignments are deeply divided on support for the project, largely because the Maryland Transit Administration has not been forthcoming with sufficient information about the possible effects on traffic, the environment and homes.

Our Park Hills neighborhood, for example, is concerned about the effect of the Bi-County Transitway on Sligo Creek Park, which is adversely affected by all of the proposed alignments in Silver Spring.

Alan Bowser

President, Park Hills Civic Association

Silver Spring

My Purple Line postings on our Get There blog, http://blog.washingtonpost.com/getthere , drew comments such as these:

From AnnR: I'm a longtime Takoma Park and Silver Spring resident who is opposed to the Purple Line. Why? It will serve a relatively small area, it's capital-intensive and it doesn't address sprawl.

I say put public transit hooks into the exploding outer urban areas, where the cost of retrofitting into tight spaces doesn't make projects so darn expensive.

From Dan: Although the Purple Line will directly serve a fairly short distance, it will also serve a large chunk of the Red Line by allowing passengers to transfer to Purple and bypass downtown.

Although there are legitimate concerns about the routing of the Purple Line, there are so many good reasons to build it that the effort should not be allowed to stall. This is the moment for the Purple Line, just as the 2002 election was the moment for the intercounty connector. Maryland voters should not accept an okay-sure-fine level of commitment from politicians seeking local, state and federal offices this year. Now is the time to make them sign in blood.

A follow-up question to a recent column about the Circulator bus: "I take MARC to Union Station and will be changing jobs (right now I can walk), so I would like to take the Circulator to the convention center area where my new office will be -- how do I get a transfer?"

The Circulator accepts transfers from the Metro system only. A Metrobus transfer gets you on any of the Circulator's three routes for free. With a Metrorail transfer, you'll need to put 35 cents in the Circulator farebox. But you can get a one-month Circulator pass for $40, and that's good for unlimited riding.

As football season begins, don't forget that there are a variety of ways to get to FedEx Field without getting stuck in traffic. Plus, you could get a little exercise.

The closest Metrorail station is Morgan Boulevard, less than a mile to FedEx. Also on the Blue Line is Largo Town Center, a one-mile walk. A $5 Metrobus shuttle to the field from Landover on the Orange Line starts three hours before the game and continues for two hours after.

Dr. Gridlock appears Thursday in the Extra and Sunday in the Metro section. You can send e-mails todrgridlock@washpost.comor write to Dr. Gridlock at 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071. Send faxes to 703-352-3908. Include your full name, town, county and day and evening phone numbers.