Locals on opposite ends of the Purple Line debate will make their arguments tonight at an event at the University of Maryland.
Bethesda’s Ben Ross, the outspoken former president of the Action Committee for Transit, will be one of three experts and stakeholders arguing for the 16-mile, estimated $2.45 billion light rail that would run from Bethesda to New Carrollton and through Maryland’s College Park campus.
Chevy Chase residents John Fitzgerald, an environmental lawyer who last year sued the federal government over the project, and Ajay Bhatt, president of the Friends of the Capital Crescent Trail, will argue against the project.
The debate, “Should We Build the Purple Line,” is being organized by the university’s Student Government Association and is set for 7 p.m. in the Prince George’s Room of the Stamp Student Union.
Maryland Transit Administration Purple Line Manager Mike Madden was also supposed to take part in the event. But an organizer said the MTA has advised Madden not to attend because of outstanding legal challenges to the Purple Line.
One of those legal challenges is a lawsuit against the state from Fitzgerald and Bhatt’s group.
Photo via Twitter
