Majority of Purple Line Work Sessions Will Likely Start in March

Looking to give your two cents on the planned Purple Line station in downtown Bethesda?

Small group work sessions are planned for residents and other stakeholders to voice their concerns and ideas on design and engineering issues. The groups are organized into station areas — including Bethesda — and other meeting areas and topics, like Georgetown Branch/Capital Crescent Trail and bike and pedestrian facilities.

One of the Purple Line small group work sessions , but others won’t likely meet until March, according to a Maryland Transit Administration spokesperson.

Last week more than two-dozen concerned business owners and residents from along Bonifant Street in Silver Spring met with MTA officials and designated consultants of the “Purple Line Team.” However, no other work session groups have been scheduled.

Purple Line project manager Michael Madden is on medical leave for surgery and is expected to return back to work in mid-February.

, Madden had anticipated the groups to meet “sometime this winter,” either the end of 2010 or the beginning of 2011. 

Madden’s medical leave is the reason the meetings have been pushed back, according to MTA spokesman Terry Owens.

Owens expects the small group work sessions for the Purple Line will likely resume in March, once Madden returns from his medical leave.

Interested parties can sign up online to participate in these groups.