Transitway tunnels below east Silver Spring?

Some residents prefer the option to other alternatives

Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2005

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Even though the state has created alternatives for a transit system that could create partially covered or deep tunnels, residents in east Silver Spring aren’t happy with the effects the system could have on their neighborhood.

But some say they’d prefer tunnels to other options put forth.

The Maryland Transit Administration is evaluating several alignments that would bring the Bi-County Transitway, formerly known as the Purple Line, down Sligo Avenue, providing an east-west connection between Bethesda and New Carrollton. MTA is also considering alternatives that would put the transitway down nearby Wayne Avenue.

‘‘We’re evaluating both bus rapid transit and light rapid transit alternatives,” said Michael Madden, project manager, at a recent meeting with the East Silver Spring Civic Association that focused on proposed alternatives for Sligo Avenue.

The transitway would provide a rapid transit connection along a 14-mile corridor in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. It also would link the Metrorail Red, Green and Orange lines.

If the transit line must go through their neighborhood, residents would prefer that it be put underground where it doesn’t disturb properties, said East Silver Spring Civic Association President Bob Colvin.

One new proposed alternative would bring a partially covered tunnel down Silver Spring Avenue to Thayer Avenue, where it would surface near East Silver Spring Elementary School, Madden said. Another would create a deep, bored tunnel under Sligo Avenue, he said.

Additionally, he said, either light rail or bus rapid transit could go down the surface of Sligo Avenue in either dedicated or shared lanes. Dedicated lanes would be used solely by either bus rapid transit or light rail. Both traffic and whatever form the transitway takes would use shared lanes.

‘‘We can kind of mix and match the different alternatives,” Madden said.

If the project runs above ground along Sligo Avenue with dedicated lanes — two for the transit line and one for traffic — street parking would be eliminated, said Joe Romanowski of the engineering firm Rummel, Klepper and Kahl, which attended the meeting with MTA. That would also create a one-way road.

If the transit line has shared lanes, cars could operate with the light rail or buses, and there could still be room for on-street parking, he said.

Creating dedicated lanes would likely mean MTA would have to acquire property to widen the roadway, Madden said. And some residents are concerned that they’ll lose their front yards — or their homes — should that happen.

But, Romanowski said, ‘‘When people say, ‘Give me a tunnel,’ make sure you know what you’re asking for.”

The diameter for each tunnel would be 18 to 20 feet, and each tunnel would be about 20 to 25 feet below ground. Creating tunnels would require going partially under properties along the road to create sufficient space. In order to create an underground line, MTA would essentially have to dig a hole, build the facility, put the top back on and restore the land, he said.

Deep tunneling would cost between $200 million and $250 million a mile, Madden said.

MTA has held several community focus groups to discuss concerns about alternatives for the transitway, Madden said, citing decreased property values, pedestrian access and economic impacts to businesses. MTA, he said, would try to minimize those effects.

But some people, like resident and business owner Ernest Bland, would rather the neighborhood see no effects from the transit line.

‘‘Go back to Colesville Road, University Boulevard,” he said. ‘‘You all own those roads.”

Putting the transit line on those roadways would save time and have fewer impacts, he said. ‘‘I don’t think you’re going to have riders with this thing.”

But Madden said putting any form of the transitway on Colesville Road or University Boulevard would cause gridlock, and options for those roads will not be studied.

During the next year, the state will study each of the selected routes to determine the feasibility of each, produce a draft environmental impact statement and select its preferred alignment based on several factors, including cost-effectiveness, community and property impacts, public and agency comments, and engineering feasibility. By spring 2007, the state is expected to decide which route and mode the Bi-County Transitway will take, with the ultimate decision made by the governor, Madden said. The costs have not been determined.

Other residents, like Dale Bernhard, questioned whether or not MTA is taking planned development in downtown Silver Spring into account when creating projections, as well as who the transitway will serve.

‘‘Who is this project benefiting?” she asked.

The project will benefit residents throughout the region, Madden said, and will be built to accommodate the area’s growing population.

‘‘This project is not just being built for today. It’s built for 25 years, 30 years out into the future,” Madden said.