Drilling For Oil On The Capital Crescent Trail

I'm all for reducing our dependency on foreign oil but I draw the line at drilling on the CCT. They should at least finish exploring the Metropolitan Branch Trial before the commit to destroying such a vital natural resource. 

As you can see by the time stamp I was pretty late to work today.

These bouts of surveying and core samples (or whatever the hell they are doing) have become an annual event on the CCT. Every time they drill the back fill the hole with fresh dirt which sinks in making a nasty pothole. I know, this is the least of the trail's worries. With every hole they dig the Purple Nurple creeps a little closer.

Purple Nurple Update

I saw this Purple Nurple update on the WashCycle via CCCT.

CCCT Chair Peter Gray presented our Coalition testimony to the Council. The testimony focused on those Trail design issues that need to be addressed in the design if the Purple Line is built:

1) The plan should incorporate the High Investment LRT design for the Capital Crescent Trail through the tunnel under Wisconsin Avenue. This design will maintain the Trail as a continuous one for users between Silver Spring and Bethesda. It is imperative, that the CCTrail maintain this continuous status and so effectively connect both sides of Wisconsin Avenue avoiding any at-grade crossings of that busy state road.

2) The plan should include at least a 12 foot paved width with two foot useable shoulders on each side (as in the trail west of Bethesda Ave). As County Executive Leggett noted in his June 25, 2010 memo, a minimum 12 foot wide paved Trail, 16 feet wide where possible, is recommended. It will not only provide better access for emergency vehicles but will also help avoid user conflicts on the Trail. We also agree with Mr. Leggett's recommendation that there be as many access points as possible along the Trail.

3) The Purple Line Plan must include a CCTrail that is completed off road directly connecting into the Silver Spring Transit Center and on to the Metropolitan Branch Trail, with funding for the Trail assured.

4) Further analysis should be conducted towards developing design details, not currently included in the Functional Master Plan, for the CapitalCrescent/Georgetown Branch Trail, including:
a. detailed plans for all access points
b. retaining walls and fencing for safety, noise reduction and privacy
c. planting of grass between and along the side of the train tacks for noise reduction purposes
d. regarding loss of trees and landscaping along the Trail corridor
e. aesthetic treatments for the bridges crossing Rock Creek
f. signage and marking along the Trail
g. bicycle facilities at all Purple Line stations (including parking and access for bicycles); and
h. a public plaza at the Woodmont East terminus.

Purple Nurple: Dark Days Ahead?

Ok, I don't usually (ever) give any credit to hearsay or rumors but I have a juicy one. As you may have read there has been an increase of activity on the Georgetown Branch Trail above Bethesda. Last week I stopped to talk to someone who was working on the trail and ask what gives. I asked if all this new activity was for the Purple Nurple and he said that was indeed. He went on to say that is was preliminary work and that the Project was years away. I wasn't sure is he was referring to the beginning of the project or the end of it.

Here's where it gets interesting. I explained my stance on the PurpNurp and how it was needed but unfortunate. I then made a comment about how at least we'll still have a path and he winced a little. He went on to say that it's a shame we can't have both but with the insurance costs of having cyclist and pedestrians that close to a light rail blah blah blah... that's when I got a little dizzy.

Isn't it confirmed that there will be a path along with the light rail system on the Purple Nurple?

According to their website it's a fact.

A proposed 16-mile east-west Light Rail Transit (LRT) line extending inside the Capital Beltway from New Carrollton in Prince George's County to Bethesda in Montgomery County. The Purple Line would:

• Include a hiker/biker trail along the Georgetown Branch and CSX/Metrorail corridors between Bethesda and Silver Spring.

So was this worker simply uninformed or is there some really bad news coming our way? Does anyone have more info (or rumors)?

On a side note I'm pretty happy the MTA started seeing things my way and adjusted their marketing campaign thusly.

The Great Purple Nurple

Something is happening on the Georgetown Branch Trail. Change is in the air and it smells funny. For the past few months I have been noticing surveyors and work crews of different kinds scattered about the trail. There is some serious work going on at Connecticut Ave. and some even more serious work going on in the woods  just south of the bridge near Jones Mill Rd. Yesterday survey markers popped up along the path. 

So what does all this mean? It this the beginning of the Purple Nurple?

What is a Purple Nurple you ask? Maybe it's one of theses, or perhaps this or this or maybe some of these?.

The spelling challenged Urban Dictionary describes it thusly:

The act of grabbing and twisting a nipple of another person, one's self, and even occasionaly other mammals.

I think it's one of these, which isn't a terrible thing all around. 

Sure it's going to suck to loose the quiet space and beautiful track of green that is the Georgetown Branch between Silver Spring and Bethesda. Watching the trail get violated by bulldozers could feel much like getting a pinch full of nipple twisted 180 degrees. But I would be a hypocrite if I didn't welcome this Purple Nurple. One of the major reasons I commute by bike is so there will be one less car on the road, so I can't get too bent out of shape at the prospect of potentiality removing thousands of cars from our local roads every day.

So weather this recent work on the trail is the coming of the Purple Line, I can't say. It is coming however and I will have to accept my Purple Nurple with a smile and take a different route to work for a while.

You know, some people like getting their nipples twisted...  It's not my thing but I'm just sayin.