Purple Line on Wayne Avenue
Letter to Maryland Secretary of Transportation, June 28, 2023
Dear Secretary Wiedefeld,
We are writing to encourage you to improve the Purple Line project by running trains in dedicated lanes on Wayne Avenue in Silver Spring. Doing so will save time for thousands of riders per day by eliminating conflicts between Purple Line trains and private cars. The change can be implemented with minor design changes and no additional cost and will help maximize the value for riders of this once in a generation regional investment.
Wayne Avenue between Sligo Creek Parkway and Fenton Street is one of the few sections of the Purple Line planned to run in lanes shared with private cars. Running in shared lanes will result in slower trips for riders, as entire trains must wait behind individual drivers, rather than running in their own, dedicated lanes. This section was initially planned to have dedicated lanes but was changed to shared lanes during the planning process to avoid the loss of 61 on-street, off-peak parking spaces along Wayne Avenue. While we understand that parking loss can be an inconvenience for some, that inconvenience is far outweighed by the time that will be saved by the nearly 50,000 daily Purple Line riders expected by 2050. All but one of the homes along this stretch of Wayne Avenue have their own driveways, and all surrounding streets have ample on-street parking, which will remain. Moreover, experience has proven that these spaces are not critical: on-street parking has been restricted on Wayne Avenue since January 2023 to accommodate Purple Line construction, with no negative impact. In short, reversing the decision to run in shared lanes on Wayne Avenue is truly “low-hanging fruit.”
The Purple Line is a once in a generation investment by the State of Maryland that will transform the lives of tens of thousands of residents by providing direct, convenient access between major transportation and activity hubs. We owe it to those riders, and all Maryland taxpayers, to maximize the value of this investment by ensuring that the service it enables is as fast and convenient as possible.
Thank you for your consideration,
Sincerely,
Amy Frieder
President, Action Committee for Transit