Kisha Brown, community and external affairs director for Baltimore Washington Rapid Rail (BWRR), told the Prince George’s County Council at a transportation briefing on October 17 that her group felt that the so-called Baltimore-Washington Parkway West maglev route would have the least impact upon Prince George’s County because it is primarily underground. She also indicated to the council that the two Parkway routes, both of which run through Greenbelt in tunnels, were preferred over the Amtrak route which somewhat parallels the Amtrak railroad line through parts of Bowie. Both Parkway routes, east and west, would tunnel 80 to 150 feet beneath homes in Greenbelt East and the Eleanor Roosevelt High School property. While the Parkway West route is proposed to emerge in the city’s forest preserve from underground to a minimum of 18 feet above ground, Brown told Councilmember Todd Turner, whose district includes Greenbelt and Bowie, that the route would be totally underground in his district and planners could easily shift the emergence north into the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center.
At the beginning of the hearing, Council Chair Derrick Davis, who represents the eastern middle county in District 6, which is not directly affected by the train route proposal, noted that the council had last been given a presentation at a council retreat held in January and the SCMaglev environmental impact study review process now being conducted by the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) had gotten way beyond “what we know.” He said there was a need to catch up. He also noted that opposition to the project was high, while information about it was low.
Besides Brown, BWRR project director David Henley appeared before the council. All the councilmembers posed questions for the duo and expressed serious concerns about the project. Brown expressed a need for ongoing public engagement, but some councilmembers criticized the MTA and other state officials for not attending the council briefing. District 2 Councilmember Deni Taveras noted that while a part of the line would go through her Adelphi, Hyattsville district, she didn’t foresee a problem because it would go underground. However, she was concerned about the high cost and possible need for federal support when there were such great needs for funding for Metro.
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