Maryland Terps rally for Purple Line

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Maryland Terps rally for Purple Line

by Andrew Ujifusa | Staff Writer

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This story was corrected on July 24, 2008, from its print version.

A group of University of Maryland students called ‘‘Terps for the Purple Line” gathered at the Bethesda Metrorail station Tuesday morning to rally in favor of the proposed mass transit route.

Representatives of various student organizations gathered at the Metro station said the Purple Line would cut down on travel time between Bethesda and the College Park campus, help students save money, and create numerous benefits for the surrounding area.

Del. William A. Bronrott (D-Dist. 16) of Bethesda and County Councilman George L. Leventhal (D-At large) of Takoma Park also attended to show their support for the Purple Line.

The Purple Line has become a big issue on the university campus, according to Student Government Association President Jonathan Sachs, 20, a rising junior who grew up in Silver Spring and now lives on campus at College Park.

‘‘Everybody is really getting involved with this because it’s an important project,” Sachs said.

Leventhal said the Metro system in general was doing a good job but failed to take into account the recent changes in the region.

‘‘The Purple Line recognizes the new patterns of life in this region, that people need to get from suburban location to suburban location,” he said.

Students at the rally also rode the Metro from Bethesda to College Park to demonstrate the current travel time and live-blogged their experience.

According to their blog, the Metro trip from Bethesda to College Park took 49 minutes, not counting the bus ride from the College Park Metro stop to campus.

‘‘Seeing the ride and riding for an hour and 10 minutes, it affects people who come to the university every day,” Sachs said after the ride.

The Purple Line is a proposed rapid transit line between Bethesda and New Carrollton in Prince George’s County.