EHRLICH CAMPAIGN ADMITS - MONEY IS THERE FOR LIGHT RAIL
"Not enough money" is just the excuse for opposition to Purple Line
Press release issued October 26, 2010
In this morning's Washington Post, Robert Ehrlich's campaign for Governor made the bombshell admission that the Maryland state budget does have enough money to build the key segment of the light rail Purple Line between Bethesda and Silver Spring.
The Post reported that "Ehrlich aides said stopping the Purple Line and a proposed rail project in Baltimore could save the state $300 million in engineering costs that could be spent instead on local road projects." The $300 million that the Ehrlich campaign wants to take out of the transit budget is equal to the cost of building light rail from Bethesda to Silver Spring, along the old railroad line that passes through Columbia Country Club. This will be the busiest and fastest segment of the Purple Line, and was originally proposed in 1986 as stand-alone project. Subsequent studies have consistently demonstrated that this light rail segment by itself would have great value.
"This shows once again that former governor Ehrlich's claim that there isn't enough money to build the Purple Line is just an excuse," said Action Committee for Transit president Ben Ross. "As Mr. Ehrlich admitted in a moment of candor in 2003, this is really about his campaign contributors at Columbia Country Club."
ACT has summarized the records on the Purple Line of both Mr. Ehrlich and Governor O'Malley at a new website, www.PurpleLine2010.com.