The Purple Line builders want out
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Anonymous
What?!?!? So by your rationale any nice, wealthy city in America deserves to be destroyed? Why? What’s with all the accusations of racism? |
Anonymous
Wait what? What city, wealthy or otherwise, has been destroyed by high quality public transportation? The Red Line certainly didn't destroy Bethesda - in fact in all likelihood it greatly increased the property values of the very people now fighting this very worthwhile project. The state really should levy some sort of tax on the residents of Chevy Chase to recoup some of these costs. |
Anonymous
Stop bullsh*tting us. We all know a huge reason CC and Bethesda don't want faster and more efficient transport from east to west and vice versa is because they don't want all of those brown people in their neighborhoods coming over from PG. Fine, if CC wants to block public transportation that could help.poorer people get jobs, well then they can shoulder more of the burden for breaking up poverty and need more diversification. HUD looks for areas that are too white all of the time to force building of affordable housing for low income people. Time to build it in CC if they're going to gum up the purple line and waste hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars on frivolous lawsuits. |
Anonymous
"HUD looks for areas that are too white all of the time to force building of affordable housing for low income people." Evidence, please? |
Anonymous
No reason HUD can't do it again: https://thehill.com/regulation/244620-obamas-bid-to-diversify-wealthy-neighborhoods HUD already did that initiative in MD in parts of Ellicott City and near White Marsh IIRC. CC is the perfect very low diversity and concentrated wealth pocket that would be a perfect target to diversify and help poorer people move in so that they have access to better schools. It's truly amazing how Julian Castro could run for president yet people are oblivious to what he did while running HUD after being appointed by Obama. HUD is quite the potent agency and doesn't even need Congress to approve what it does. If rich dbags want to block area transit that would improve the lives of everyone, including poorer people who are minorities, maybe it is time HUD take a look in the neighborhoods that have the NIMBYs who are blocking it to force building of affordable housing and desegregation. |
Anonymous
ummmm...Where were you during the the previous administration? I realize that we all have short term memories, however this was a corner stone of the President Obama administration. Anyway, regardless of what you think of the policy, it is a shame that Purple Line friction will continue delay this seemingly beneficial to all project. |
Anonymous
The Purple Line will destroy the Town of Chevy Chase!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Or, actually, it won't, but whatever. Go on with your expensive, pointless, self-defeating lawsuits against a light rail line in the right-of-way bought by Montgomery County for exactly that purpose 33 years ago, based on "I don't want that in my back yard." |
Anonymous
No, not destroyed. Made accessible by all, including less wealthy minorities. Right now, CC and Bethesda are the epitome of privilege by race. Statewide, MD is 56.2% white, 29.78% black, 6.23% Asian, 4.16% other, 3.3% 2 or more races Bethesda, MD is 85.86% white, 2.67% black, 7.92% Asian, 1.23% other, 2.11% 2 or more races Chevy Chase, MD is 92.1% white, 1% black, 3.9% Asian, 0.7% other, 2.2% 2 or more races Bethesda and CC are notoriously unwelcoming to minorities. Everyone here on DCUM always says "oh, not my neighborhood" and yet, the reality is that the culture is very, very white and while whites don't go out of their way to dissuade minorities from living there, they have double standards that are easy to miss when you are white, but very noticeable when you are not. Minority residents have been stopped without provocation and asked to show ID. Minority students have had police called over incidents that should not have had police involved. Minority residents have had police called for house parties. Minorities are often questioned in stores whether they want to purchase higher priced products when whites are not so questioned. All of which happen disproportionately to minorities over whites. The purple line will bring a lot of minorities from PG county. They will be able to work lower end jobs in Bethesda and CC when they normally wouldn't because they can't afford to live in those areas and the commute is horrible. The PL will allow them access to work there. The PL will also bring minority customers to higher end businesses in Bethesda and CC when they otherwise might have trouble getting there. You are very naive if you don't think that both of these are problems for many who live in Bethesda and CC. They won't come out and say it, but they will discourage such and will do their darnedest to obstruct the racial blending of their environment. |
Anonymous
In fact we did. As well as spotted salamanders, and American Shad and Blueback Herring. Four seriously threatened species that were previously thought to be absent from the area, but were discovered present when our neighborhood association hired a private environmental survey company to find evidence of endangered or threatened species. When the courts reopen in June, the construction will be stopping here. And another EIS will have to be undertaken (next spring, because 3 of the species are seasonal or migratory) and a new plan for habitat preservation will have to be designed. That will take a couple more years. I’ve never loved salamanders and fish more than I do right now! |
Anonymous
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Chevy Chase also has a looooong history of racism and redlining. HUD should absolutely take a look into diversification of CC if they kill PL.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2018/09/29/racist-history-chevy-chase-home-power-players-like-brett-kavanaugh/ That's exactly what HUD was designed to do....breakup pockets of concentrated wealth and low diversity that was founded on racist histories. CC is a very good candidate for HUD intervention now that there killed the PL. |
Anonymous
How exciting that a private environmental survey company hired by your neighborhood association was able to find four (!) threatened/endangered species, when everyone else, looking for years, was not able to find any! Please remind me, though: when did spotted salamanders get listed as threatened or endangered? |
Anonymous
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They’re clearly threatened locally by the construction. Once extirpated from an area, they aren’t likely to return. That makes them threatened.
I’m not a wildlife expert, so that’s a question for the people who understand it better than I. In any case, the court will have plenty of time to go over all the findings of the survey. Years, probably. |
Anonymous
| I remember the story about how one of the leaders of the anti-Purple Line groups had expanded his fenced yard well into the right of way. You can't take land from the government by adverse possession but he (and his neighbors) were arguing that they began doing this when CSX owned the land so it was now theirs. |
Anonymous
Sounds like something for the courts to decide, not you or I It might take years, with appeals, before we really know for sure. In the meantime, construction will have to be halted. |
Anonymous
That’s not likely to happen anywhere outside your fever dream. |