Purple Line proponents pony up for lobbying effort

Fundraiser marks intensifying pressure to build Bethesda-New Carrollton transit line

‘‘I’ve never been to an event where I not only brought a $500 check from my own campaign, but so many other elected officials brought $500 for their campaign,” said Comptroller Peter V.R. Franchot (D), one of several speakers. ‘‘I think we need to roll up our sleeves and say the delay is over. ... We need to get this project done now.”

State Transportation Secretary John D. Porcari was among the more than 300 people who came out to Montgomery College’s Silver Spring-Takoma Park campus for a $50 a person fundraiser.

Porcari said the lobbying group hopes to pressure the General Assembly to increase funding for transportation projects, should Gov. Martin O’Malley’s latest tax proposals pass.

‘‘Right now, there is no money for transportation,” Porcari said.

Wearing a purple shirt and purple tie, Montgomery County Councilman George L. Leventhal said the next few months are critical.

‘‘The governor and the General Assembly are right now making the decisions that are going to determine the future of transportation,” said Leventhal (D-At large) of Takoma Park. ‘‘If our legislators are going to raise taxes of their constituents to raise revenues, then we have to say, ‘Here’s what we’re giving back.’”

The state and county are finalizing ridership, alignment and environmental studies of the proposed line before applying for federal and state money, Porcari said.

‘‘We’ve got a lot of work to do,” said Webb Smedley, chairman of Purple Line Now! ‘‘The state has a lot of priorities. We know ours is not the only one.”

Smedley said the Purple Line needs $500 million in state money and $500 million in matching federal aid.

Business, labor and environmental officials joined politicians in supporting the rail line.

Takoma Park resident Mike Tidwell, founder and director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, said the Purple Line is a preferable environmental alternative to existing traffic on the Capital Beltway because rail lines create less pollution and runoff.

Joslyn Williams, president of the Metropolitan Washington Council of the AFL-CIO, said area workers need a reliable and cheap public transportation alternative to driving.

‘‘Workers in this region, who are the backbone of the economy, must rely on an economic way to get to work,” he said.

Better area transportation is needed to move people and goods, said Georgette ‘‘Gigi” Godwin, president and CEO of the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce. ‘‘Transportation is key to commerce,” she said.

Del. Heather R. Mizeur acknowledged that many residents don’t want the rail line cutting through their neighborhoods.

‘‘At the closest local level, we have big decisions concerning where the alignment is going to be,” said Mizeur (D-Dist. 20) of Takoma Park. ‘‘We have to lay the tracks so it doesn’t divide communities.”

Unless planners decide to use tunnels in certain areas, as has been proposed, Takoma Park City Councilman Reuben Snipper (Ward 5) warned communities will inevitably be affected. ‘‘It’s going to be in somebody’s backyard,” he said. ‘‘That’s the nature of any public project.”

Silver Spring resident Virginia Haufler said she supports the Purple Line because it would ease her commute to work at University of Maryland.

‘‘I’d like an easy way to get from Silver Spring to College Park,” she said.