Loh vows to see Purple Line through

University President Wallace Loh dove headfirst into the Purple Line debate yesterday by hosting a town hall-style meeting to discuss the merits and disadvantages of two rail alignments with the university community.

In his opening remarks before a crowd of nearly 250 attendees, Loh pledged his commitment to making the Purple Line a reality — regardless of its alignment — noting the mass transit system is crucial to moving both the university and College Park forward.

"Not having a Purple Line is not an option," Loh said at the start of the meeting. "It is very important that all of us engage in the issues that the Purple Line raises, but do keep in mind we can't forever debate this at this early stage."

In his first public comments about the Purple Line — a proposed $1.7 billion light-rail train that would connect Montgomery and Prince George's counties and run from Bethesda to New Carrollton — Loh's strong advocacy for the project marked a stark contrast from his predecessor, former university President Dan Mote.

Mote, who was in office when the Purple Line debate first began in 2004, was adamantly opposed to the train running down Campus Drive — the preferred alignment of the Maryland Transit Administration. Mote's administration pushed alternative options, including building the line down Preinkert Drive.

But yesterday's meeting began a fresh debate, as a panel of eight officials from the federal government, an engineering firm and the university presented pros and cons of both alignments and allowed the university community to weigh in and ask questions.

Members of the university and College Park residents seemed largely in favor of a Campus Drive alignment, citing the convenient location as a major advantage over the Preinkert Drive location.

"I like the social aspects of the Campus Drive situation and think that there would possibly be reduced risks," said Chris Horvath, a mechanical engineering graduate student, after the meeting. "I don't think closing traffic to the university is a big deal."

Some of the advantages the panelists cited for the Campus Drive alignment included reduced traffic congestion on local roads, reduced emissions and pollution and increased accessibility of the stop for students and residents. Some risks mentioned were potential interference with experiments conducted in nearby laboratories and possible dangerous interactions with vehicles and pedestrians, since the downhill train would not be able to stop quickly.

Some audience members expressed concern over the dangers posed by light rail running through the middle of the campus, where students often cross without checking for traffic. Others, however, believed this debate should stay in the past.

"[This meeting] confirmed to me that the people who are in favor of the Preinkert alignment don't have faith in the students, staff and faculty of Maryland to watch where they're going and stay out of the way of a train," said Eric Marshall-Main, a university staff member. "We can't keep debating these things because it just makes it more dangerous that we won't get the project done."

But panelists in favor of a Preinkert alignment noted there are far fewer pedestrians — 2,900 compared to 25,000 on Campus Drive — which would reduce the dangers of having on-campus light rail.

Although no definite conclusions were drawn, Loh said he was pleased with the outcome of the meeting.

"This is precisely the kind of community decision and debate that should precede a decision and action that's going to affect the future of this region for the next 100 or 150 years, at least."

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