Boston’s commuter rail is informally known as the “Purple Line.” Maryland still hasn’t decided whether its Purple Line will be light rail or bus rapid transit. Photo by Pylon757.

Today’s a big day for the Purple Line. (Check out our previous post about the controversial transit project here.) The National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board is voting on whether or not to include the Purple Line in the long-range transportation plan. The NCRTPB is the D.C. area’s metropolitan planning organization. MPOs are critical parts of any planning process, in that federal transportation dollars won’t go to projects that the regional MPO doesn’t include in its plan. (Nashua, N.H.’s MPO provides a decent guide to the role of MPOshere.)

Moreover, if the Board does include the Purple Line and are then able to secure funding, opposition suddenly becomes a lot harder. It’s pretty rare to see someone give back federal dollars.

Stay tuned and keep your fingers crossed.

noah kazis

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