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Yvonne Finnegan, Kensington, MD
My name is Yvonne Finnegan and I live in Kensington, MD. I am here to testify against putting the Purple Line along the Capital Crescent Trail between Bethesda and Silver Spring.
Like tens of thousands of Trail users, I use this Trail all the time. I am a runner, and I bike and I walk. Exercise and the rejuvenating effects of the outdoors are very important to me.
The Trail between Bethesda and Silver Spring is a crucial link in the 20-mile loop that distance runners and bikers use, going from Bethesda down to Georgetown, back up Rock Creek Park and joining the Georgetown Branch portion of the Capital Crescent Trail back to Bethesda. Without this link, our 100+ member training groups are running on the roads—sidewalks are lacking in many areas.
This portion of the trail is particularly quiet and beautiful, lined with very tall, mature trees.
Please come run on the trail with me for those three and a half miles--or just walk--and you will understand why sticking a light rail here is unconscionable.
I wish you could see what I see on my runs. I see a very old gentleman who takes his walk daily, slowly progressing with his walker; he always smiles. I see families with very small children riding their bikes--the dangers here are few, the families can relax. I see people walking their dogs. I see people running, people power-walking, people talking, sitting on benches. I see birds and squirrels and the occasional tortoise.
But there is so much more that I don’t see: the oxygen that the trees provide; the lower temperatures that the foliage provides in the summer; the animals that keep a low profile.
Is all this to be sacrificed for a Purple Line that will cost $1.68 billion dollars as now projected, and probably more?
We can put transit in many places. But we have very few beautiful, continuous Trails like the Capital Crescent Trail. Please say no to the plan to put the Purple Line along the Capital Crescent Trail.
Generations to come will thank you, just like we thank Justice William O. Douglas for saving the tow path along the Potomac River. Thank you.
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