2008 Woodie Awards
Historic site status may hinder route
Carrie Wells
Issue date: 5/8/08 Section: News
The debate over where on campus to lay the Purple Line tracks may be partially determined by history.
Maryland Transit Administration officials are studying how the transitway could affect the campus, and they found they might need to divert the tracks away from four parts of the campus that could be dubbed historic sites.
The Preinkert Drive alignment, which the administration supports, would run by Morrill Hall, which is one of the oldest buildings on the campus, as well as the Washington Quad and the Memorial Chapel. Both the Preinkert Drive alignment and the more popular Campus Drive alignment would run close to the Rossborough Inn near Route 1.
If the Maryland Historical Trust decides these places could be labeled historic, it would likely force the MTA to choose the Campus Drive route because it would have a lower impact on historic areas, said Mike Madden, the MTA's Purple Line project manager.
The MTA is required by federal regulations to identify sites near the Purple Line's proposed route that could be considered historic. Officials have not completed their report, but they are concerned that the four sites could qualify as historic. When the MTA completes its study, the Historical Trust will look at its findings and decide if the sites are in fact eligible for historic status, MTA and Historical Trust officials said. Even the Historical Trust deeming the areas eligible could impact Purple Line plans, since new construction near historic sites is restricted.
"Part of the historic impact has to do with what may be in the viewshed of something historic," Madden said. "It's not just if [the Purple Line] touches or removes something historic. It also has to do with visual and noise impacts."
Federal regulations require the MTA to look at the project's impact on potential historical sites because the MTA will be asking for federal funding, said Beth Cole, the administrator of project review and compliance for the Historical Trust.
Maryland Transit Administration officials are studying how the transitway could affect the campus, and they found they might need to divert the tracks away from four parts of the campus that could be dubbed historic sites.
The Preinkert Drive alignment, which the administration supports, would run by Morrill Hall, which is one of the oldest buildings on the campus, as well as the Washington Quad and the Memorial Chapel. Both the Preinkert Drive alignment and the more popular Campus Drive alignment would run close to the Rossborough Inn near Route 1.
If the Maryland Historical Trust decides these places could be labeled historic, it would likely force the MTA to choose the Campus Drive route because it would have a lower impact on historic areas, said Mike Madden, the MTA's Purple Line project manager.
The MTA is required by federal regulations to identify sites near the Purple Line's proposed route that could be considered historic. Officials have not completed their report, but they are concerned that the four sites could qualify as historic. When the MTA completes its study, the Historical Trust will look at its findings and decide if the sites are in fact eligible for historic status, MTA and Historical Trust officials said. Even the Historical Trust deeming the areas eligible could impact Purple Line plans, since new construction near historic sites is restricted.
"Part of the historic impact has to do with what may be in the viewshed of something historic," Madden said. "It's not just if [the Purple Line] touches or removes something historic. It also has to do with visual and noise impacts."
Federal regulations require the MTA to look at the project's impact on potential historical sites because the MTA will be asking for federal funding, said Beth Cole, the administrator of project review and compliance for the Historical Trust.
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