To: Paul Pinsky, Maryland State Senator-District 22, Tawanna Gaines, Maryland State Delegate-District 22, Anne Healey, Maryland State Delegate-District 22, Alonzo Washington, Maryland State Delegate-District 22, Rushern Baker III, Prince Geo...
Purple Line--No Wall Divide in Our Community!
We, the community and commuters along Kenilworth Avenue and Riverdale Road oppose the revised concept for the Riverdale Park Purple Line Station.
The State has approved the construction of the Purple Line from New Carrollton to Bethesda. This $5.6 billion project will not only improve transportation for our Riverdale residents but with appropriate design, it can bring economic revitalization to our community and our county.
The Central Kenilworth Avenue Revitalization Community Development Corporation (CKAR CDC) fully supports The Purple Line but we are also mindful that the community will have to live with design decisions made by the State and the County for decades.
CKAR’s concern is the decision to redesign the elevated Riverdale Park Station using a solid concrete wall support at this major intersection. The wall will be over 500 feet long (more than two football fields) and 26 feet high. This imposing structure would visually and physically divide our community in half. We already have to contend with the six-lane East-West Highway and Kenilworth Avenue at this location. Adding a wall of this magnitude would stifle economic growth that could happen with a positive transit solution that is open, well-lighted, generates quality increased economic development, provides safe crossings, increases overhead weather coverage for its patrons, provides elevators and stairs with uninterrupted visibility from grade to discourage crime and that incorporates public art.
To revitalize Riverdale, we as residents, must be sensitive to design issues that will compromise our ability to make this an attractive community that we are all proud to live and work in. No less is being done for the stations in Bethesda or at the University of Maryland. Riverdale Park is the only elevated station on The Purple Line in Prince George’s County. Its design should not be sacrificed in the state’s effort to save money. MTA estimates the savings would be less than one percent of the total project. Will we be proud of the Riverdale Park Station or will it be an ever-present eyesore?
Why is this important?
This wall support would visually and physically divide our community in half - north and south. The previous design presented to the community included pylon supports providing visibility; opportunities for commerce (such as an open market); more and safer street crossings; and less opportunity for criminal activity.
Has our government forgotten about the need for environmental justice when weighing brick and mortar solutions in challenged communities? Our community should not be sacrificed in the state's effort to save money. Adding a wall of this magnitude would stifle economic growth that could happen with a positive transit solution that is open, well-lighted, generates quality increased economic development, provides safe crossings, increases overhead weather coverage for its patrons, provides elevators and stairs with uninterrupted visibility from grade to discourage crime, and incorporates public art.