MTA unveils purple line costs

The Maryland Transit Administration dealt a blow to the university's proposed Preinkert Drive route for the Purple Line last night, announcing it would be cheaper to run the transitway down Campus Drive.

Students have contended it would be most convenient if the Purple Line runs down Campus Drive with a stop in the center of campus at Stamp Student Union, but administrators contend that route could endanger pedestrians and tarnish the campus's look.

Secretary of Transportation John Porcari will have the final say on the $1.7-billion transitway that will connect outer-Beltway suburbs. State officials said they'll weigh opinions of stakeholders on both sides along with the differences in aesthetics, pedestrian impact, travel times and cost.

In a presentation MTA engineers gave to a group of university, city and student leaders at city hall last night, the Campus Drive route appeared to have an edge in two of those categories.

After completing an extensive study of campus traffic patterns, MTA engineering consultant Joel Oppenheimer announced the Campus Drive alignment would affect the university's historic look less - the Preinkert Drive option would narrowly squeeze between the South Campus Diner and Lefrak Hall and cut past the Memorial Chapel.

Transit planners also proposed lining Campus Drive with brick plazas and announced the route would be $3 million cheaper than its alternative.

University officials have proposed the Purple Line - which will stop four times in College Park regardless of its on-campus route - should veer toward the outskirts of campus down Preinkert Drive regardless.

Aesthetics have been a centerpiece of administrators' arguments against the Campus Drive alignment, but pedestrian traffic remains another major worry. The MTA confirmed Preinkert Drive would likely see 60 percent fewer pedestrians and that both routes would have virtually similar travel times.

Vice President for Administrative Affairs Doug Duncan declined to comment on the MTA's findings last night, except to say that he maintains the costs of both proposals are "pretty much the same." But Student Government Association President Andrew Friedson, who has endorsed the Campus Drive plan, said the night's presentation largely confirmed his opinions.

"Today didn't change anything in terms of the conclusions you can draw," he said.

But after sharp disagreements with administrators, Friedson said, "there is a certain degree of comfort in being able to know the findings were what we expected."

Bill Orleans, a transportation advocate from Greenbelt who said he spends several days a week on the campus, echoed the sentiment.

"The students have spoken, the faculty have spoken: Campus Drive," he said. "If we had to vote tonight, I'd say go Campus Drive."

But the MTA has yet to study the impact the transitway's vibrations could have on sensitive research laboratories - another major qualm for administrators and some faculty. While planners have yet to decide whether the Purple Line will be a bus rapid transit system or a light rail train, they predicted neither option will affect research.

Planners from the group will return to the campus May 8 to present to the University Senate and have a round of public input meetings lined up in College Park this fall. They're hoping to reach a recommendation by winter, so the state can apply for federal funding for the project in 2009.

slivnickdbk@gmail.com