Purple Line Follies--spring 2014 edition part 1

How do people on different sides of the debate about the Purple Line settle their differences?

If this was Game of Thrones, one of them would invite the other to a wedding and then kill him, his wife, and the horse he rode in on.

Fortunately, Purple Line fights are more Gladys Kravitz than Kingslayer.  The results are more comical as well.

The most recent fight started when Wayne Phyillaier complained to the Maryland Department of Transportation that a homeowner along the Capital Crescent Trail had extended his backyard onto public property by building a fence on the shoulder of the trail.  For out-of-towners, the Capital Crescent trails is an old rail-line that has been turned into a hiking trail.  The Purple Line is slated to be built along the trail.

Montgomery County investigated the complaint and levied a $500 fine against the homeowner, who happens to be one Ajay Bhatt, the president of Friends of the Capital Crescent Trail, a group fighting the line.

Turns out Phyillaier is an outspoken advocate of the line.

It is hard not to laugh at these fifth-graders guys. 

The Purple Line is most likely going to happen, so Phyillaier is on the winning side.  He could have said nothing or reported all of the sheds and fences built in the trails' right of way (Bhatt apparently has lots of company in his sense of entitlement to public land).

For his part Bhatt has already gone to court once to avoid paying the fine.  He lives in Chevy Chase, MD and owns his own company so can probably afford the fine.  Instead, he'll likely pay more in court costs than the fine.

Well, at least they aren't jousting, sword-fighting or playing dodge ball.

On second thought, maybe dodge ball IS the way to solve this.