Purple Line Follies--Snarky but Revealing

Last Wednesday, Washington Post metro columnist Robert McCartney wrote an editorial in which he shared some unwelcome news with the Town of Chevy Chase---the Town is not, as was previously thought, the center of the universe.  

Ok, he didn't say that.  He was far more polite.  He suggested the town should stop spending its tax money on lobbying to have the Purple Line moved from its current route and instead work to lessen its impact.  The line's route has now been approved by federal, state, and local governments.  It isn't likely to move. 

Well, not surprisingly, the Town of Chevy Chase didn't like that.  No, it didn't.  Not one bit.

On Saturday, the Washington Post's editorial page gave its "Local Opinions" space to Jim Mich, a resident of the Town of Chevy Chase. Mich wrote in to say that McCartney was wrong--the Town is indeed the center of the universe.

Ok, Mich didn't say that either.  But he was miffed that McCartney had stereotyped the Town's residents as "a bunch of rich people who don't know what to do with our money."  He also suggested the state could learn something about "sticking to a budget" by watching how the Town manages its money.

When I got to that line in Mich's letter I thought to myself "Oh no he didn't!"  So, naturally, I kept reading.  And, what I found was revealing.

Mich stepped outside of the normal parameters of Purple Line critique (that it will put children in harm's way, cut down hundreds of trees, cost too much, and increase traffic) and said what this is really about--stopping development.   

As Mich argued, "The driving force behind the Purple Line is the people who want it to provide a catalyst for more development. This is a development issue, period, and we would be remiss if we suddenly took a back seat to the development industry which, left unchecked, will run amok to the detriment of residents."

So, what to make of the anti-development sentiment here? 

My first reaction is that trying to stop development in this region is akin to thinking you can stop a barn fire by closing its doors.

According to Census quick facts the District added nearly 45 thousand people between 2010 and 2013.  That's a percent change in the population of 7.4% (in the US as a whole the percent change was only 2.4%).  Census quick facts for MOCO show greater than average growth as well.  Between 2010 and 2012 the county added almost 33 thousand people (a percent change of 3.4%).

You can't blame developers for numbers like these (and I say this as someone who blames developers for a host of things).  The DMV has a lot going for it--plentiful, well paying jobs being one of the main draws.  So, stopping the purple line won't stop population growth.  However, not building the line in the face of this growth will make it harder to move around the inner suburbs.

In light of these trends, the Town of Chevy Chase's opposition to the purple line seems more like a 'the rest of you be damned' sentiment than a garden variety 'not in my backyard' one.       








   

NIMBYs and Nazis? After a Good Start to the Week the Purple Line Hits Bumps in the Road

This week started off with good news for the purple line.  The project was selected for federal funds, which will make private investment in the line more likely.  On hump day the news was mixed.  And, by Friday the story was anything but positive.   

The Gazette (a local paper for Silver Spring and Takoma Park) had an above the fold headline entitled "Civil Groups May get Seat at Purple Line Discussion."  According to the story, two MOCO council members are asking County Executive Isiah Leggett to transform the "Coalition of Purple Line Neighborhoods" into a formal task force that would interface with the MOCO's Department of Transportation and the Maryland Transit Administration as the final route is finalized and construction begins.   

What's wrong with civil participation you ask?  Well, it depends on how civic minded the participation will be.  This could be good if the civic groups in the coalition push for added safety along the line, especially where pedestrians could cross the line, or better breaks for families and businesses whose property will be taken via eminent domain.  But, it could also be a fox in the hen house moment.  The Town of Chevy Chase, which has filed a lawsuit over the line, is in the coalition.  If they get to meet regularly with the Maryland Transit Authority (MTA) and MOCO's Department of Transportation, they could turn NIMBYism into an executive level function.  I'm sorry, but the lawsuit makes it hard for me to trust their motives.   


The news on Friday was worse.  The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) sent a warning letter to Montgomery County officials reminding them that federal contracting rules do not permit discrimination against potential bidders.  Some context.  One of the companies involved in the bidding as an affiliate is the French company SCNF.  During World War II SCNF transported Jews to Nazi death camps.  The Maryland House of Delegate's Kirill Reznik (Democrat, Montgomery County, District 39) has introduced a bill to force SCNF to pay reparations to victims of the Holocaust and their surviving family members.

SCNF says the company was taken over by the Nazis during the Vichy regime, which collaborated with the Hitler during World War II.  They have also paid reparations, but only to French victims/family members.  No Americans have received reparations.

Reznik says his bill isn't designed to kill the purple line (he counts himself as a supporter).  And, he has suggested he'll change the bill to prevent scuttling the project.  But, the testimony to Maryland House and Senate committees from survivors and their family members was a brutal reminder of wartime atrocities and the collaboration of many companies that allowed it to happen.  If SCNF wins the contract, it will cast a pall over the project.  Let's hope it doesn't.