Purple Line Opponents Win in Court

A federal judge has vacated the decision to build the Purple light-rail line in suburban Washington, DC, effectively delaying and possibly halting the project. Judge Richard Leon’s decision said that “recent revelations regarding the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s ridership and safety concerns” had persuaded him that projected ridership numbers for the Purple Line were overly optimistic.

Some Purple Line stations were planned next to Metro Rail stations and projections for light-rail ridership depended partly on the continued growth of Metro Rail ridership. But, largely due to safety issues, Metro Rail ridership has declined every year since 2009, noted Judge Leon, and this meant that the Purple Line ridership numbers, which were calculated in 2009, would probably be lower as well.

“WMATA and the FTA’s cavalier attitude toward these recent developments raises troubling concerns about their competence as stewards of nearly a billion dollars of the federal taxpayers’ funds,” wrote the judge. The Purple Line would be built and operated by the Maryland Transit Authority, not WMATA, but, the Judge Leon noted, this doesn’t mean that declining Metro ridership wouldn’t have an impact on Purple Line ridership.

The group challenging the light-rail plan, Friends of the Capital Crescent Trail (which trail’s right of way would be partly taken over by the rail line), raised a number of other issues in their challenge, including claims under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Endangered Species Act, and Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Judge Leon did not rule on any of these claims, which means he could impose even more delays if he rules in their favor.
WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF GASTRITIS? Bacterial infection: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) that live deep in the mucosal layer, which coats the lining of the cialis 5 mg stomach. Ensure the online store provides detailed information about the procedures, online resources order levitra may be helpful for you. Tadacip’s effect starts working in 30 minutes and lasts for 36 hours. levitra cheapest does not alter the heart rate and the rate of heart contractions. Brain Fog – A depressed person may have a diminished ability to think, concentrate buy generic cialis or make decisions.
In the meantime, Maryland will have to prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement to comply with the judge’s order before proceeding with any rail construction. This potentially puts the decision back into the lap of Maryland Governor Larry Hogan.

The original ridership projection for the Purple Line was so low that the Federal Transit Administration had rated the line as not cost effective. Hogan’s predecessor (and former presidential candidate) Martin O’Malley had hired Parsons Brinckerhoff to revise the ridership numbers upwards to meet the FTA’s cost-effectiveness requirement. The Antiplanner has shown that the resulting numbers were completely unrealistic.

So Hogan could continue to use an unrealistic ridership model. Or he could switch to a different consulting firm that might have a more realistic model. Or he could just cancel the Purple Line altogether based on the unrealistic nature of the plans so far.

From a legal point of view, it doesn’t matter if the environmental impact statement projects lower or even zero ridership. NEPA doesn’t require that a project be environmentally sound, only that agencies adequately estimate the effects of the project. And the FTA’s cost-effectiveness rule that led to the negative evaluation of the original Purple Line plan has been repealed by the Obama administration. So ultimately, this will be a political decision, which is after all the real problem with transportation policy today.