Building the Purple Line and Beyond

The July 12 editorial "Green-Light the Purple Line" purported to "dispel the myths" about the Purple Line and the Capital Crescent Trail. Instead, the editorial demonstrated that The Post has bought into the biggest myth of all: that Montgomery County needs light rail barreling through neighborhoods and parkland.

Many of us believe that there are three options here, not two: light rail, rapid bus or, the most expensive, underground rail connecting the two ends of the Red Line. We should either accept that the Purple Line would serve a limited population in southern Montgomery County and go with the cheapest option -- bus rapid transit that would support the increased population at the National Naval Medical Center (which light rail would not do) -- or go with the underground option.

Like others, The Post has been fooled by the attractive drawings and deceptive videos showing trains alongside a biking-hiking path in a park-like setting. The ugly reality is that, in areas such as East Bethesda, all the trees along the trail will be sacrificed, the trail may be jeopardized and some homes will be destroyed.

The Post's editorial writers should walk the length of the Capital Crescent Trail and then see if they can say that the light-rail Purple Line option is "an easy call."

FRANCESCA KELLY

Bethesda

--