Show us what we are missing.

Purple Line opponents assert that we can finish the CCT into Silver Spring now, without transit. Mier Wolf, former mayor of the Town of Chevy Chase and Chairman of the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Coalition, has repeated that claim very recently in a letter to the Bethesda Gazette, with no explanation as to how this can be done.

Those who assert we can complete the CCT without the Purple line should show us a plan to back up this assertion. Are they claiming that the right-of-way needed to build the Trail along the CSX corridor can be obtained without being part of a transit deal with CSX? If so, they should show some evidence that they can do what no one has succeeded in doing to date - i.e. get the CSX Corporation to negotiate a r.o.w. for the trail alone. Are they asserting a good trail alignment exists that does not use any CSX right-of-way? If so, they should show us what that alignment is. Where will the major roadways like 16th Street and Colesville Road be crossed? How will the connection to the MetBranch Trail be made in the S.S. Transit Center? Let us see their trail plan so we can judge whether their trail would be direct, safe and off-road to a standard appropriate for a major regional trail like the CCT.

I outline at www.silverspringtrails.org why I believe the CCT must use an alignment along the CSX corridor to be off-road, have safe crossings of busy streets, and connect seamlessly with the MetBranch Trail. What have I been missing?